Heart of the Hive
by CelfwrDderwydd
Summary: The sequal to Astral Link. Kyle and Sophie have lived peacefully on planet Zerichs II for the past two years, but events will force them to seek answers, right ancient wrongs, and save not one race, but two...
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: The author does not own Aliens.

**Heart of the Hive**

By

CelfwrDderwydd

**Chapter One**

The pub was alive with the sounds of conversation and the smells of pipe smoke and cooking food. The lighting was not dim, but not bright. The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant as people ordered food or drinks from the Bar-Master.

Some people played games of cards at their tables, others talked amiably over drinks of stout or porter while they waited for their food to arrive. The fare was simple, but tasty and nourishing; Fish & Chips, corn, beans, chowders, soups and stews of many types and a wide selection of fine, locally brewed drinks that would put to shame any of the more expensive, pretentious off-world swill.

Some people sat at the round tables out in the middle of the pub, while others sat at the cozy tables huddled against the walls or in the corners. The light from the braziers set into the round tables added to the warm ambiance, blue-mauve-amber flames flickered and flared up as people roasted fish and other foods right at their tables. Sizzling scents wafted about, making bellies growl and mouths water in anticipation.

At one table in the far corner, with their back to the door, one of the patrons was finishing their meal. The person's long, jet-black hair swirled to the side as they looked up. Two gentle, almond-shaped amber eyes slid over to the bar, where the Bar-Master was serving a fresh mug of stout to a male customer. The woman tucked a lock of unruly, wavy black hair behind her ear as she watched the Bar-Master go about his bar, serving food and drinks with decades of practiced ease.

The Bar-Master, Barnabas, was a tall gentleman, with slicked-back dark brown hair and a high Widow's Peak. He wore the usual white shirt, black vest and pants worn by most Bar-Masters, but his appearance was very dapper and distinguished. His violet eyes looked at her and the side of his mouth slightly twitched upwards in a very subtle, lopsided smile, one so subtle, only a local like Sam would recognize it.

With a gentle nod to Barnabas, Sam downed the rest of her porter with a satisfied sigh. The light of the pub cast a gentle glow that almost seemed to make Sam's mocha skin shimmer in the soft light. She sighed softly as her mind mulled over thoughts of schedules and destinations, cargo and manifests until she shook her head. She could think of that later.

Tonight, she was going to relax.

Sam heard someone guffaw and looked up as several fishermen laughed as they told stories over a game of cards and some foamy pints of ale. She couldn't help smiling herself. The pub was a small, out-of-the-way place that only locals knew how to find. Sam knew it was a true haven for locals like herself and others. Locals protected their own. A Sanctuary with food, drink, camaraderie and weapons if necessary.

The sound of the door opening and the roar of waves and the sounds of fierce winds made people look up at the new arrivals. Sam turned in place and watched as the three men took off their coats and hung them up by the door. It was obvious they were Off-Worlders.

They all were dressed in black. They wore sleeveless black shirts and black pants and boots. All of this contrasted with their relatively pale complexions. What made Sam nervous, though, was their hair, or lack thereof. All of them had short, thin palest peach-fuzz which looked like it had just started growing after being shaved off for many years.

Sam watched and tensed as they swaggered into the pub. Her eyes slid to Barnabas and she saw the knob of his cane sticking up over the edge of the bar. Sam drew in a breath. It was serious if Barnabas had brought up his cane. Sam, and all the rest of the regulars knew that thirty-six inches of razor-sharp steel hid within his cane.

"_-reed-ee?"_ Sam heard part of the conversation of the new arrivals. Her head snapped around and she looked as they were talking with some of the people there. The fishermen shrugged and went back to their game, ignoring the unwelcome outsiders as they walked around. Sam felt a cold pit in her stomach. She looked up as they walked around, asking at tables.

She looked at a man with white hair in a gray jumpsuit, Jacob. He locked eyes with her and subtly touched his belt buckle. Sam looked at the strangers and looked at their belts. At first, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. As they came closer, however, she saw a hint of white contrasting with the black of their clothing. When Sam saw what the white was, she felt her blood run cold.

The white was a button on their pants, under their belt buckles. In the middle of the white button, was a black Swastika.

"_Nazis!"_ she mentally yelled. Sam tried not to panic as her eyes darted around. She saw Jacob eye the door, then her. She looked over and saw Devon, a local mechanic, thumbing the snap off of his pistol holster at his side. She looked over to Barnabas, whose eyes didn't leave the Nazis for even an instant.

Sam tried not to look nervous as she reached under the table and a whir was heard as her mechanical wheelchair pulled back and she turned and headed for the door. The Nazis looked up at her, a look of disgust and disdain crossing their features when they saw her dark skin. Devon rising from his seat brought their attention back as the tall, muscular mechanic walked toward them.

Sam was about to grab her jacket , when she recoiled, almost grabbing one of the dripping-wet coats of the Nazis. She shivered when she saw the black leather trench coats. Sam swallowed when she saw the two lightning bolts that formed the dreaded "SS" on the collars of the coats. Sam grabbed her green jacket and threw the door open and sped out into the growing storm. Her mind raced as she hurried towards the docks.

" _'reed-ee'? They must've said "MacReady". They're looking for Mac! I have to tell him!" _she thought as she raced through the ever-increasing rain. While Sam knew it was very dangerous to say the least to go out on the ocean in this kind of weather, her desire to warn Mac outweighed her sense of danger. As she neared the docks, she couldn't help a slight smirk as she thought on all her friend had done to gum up the Fifth Reich's plans. _"MacReady-ten, Nazis-zero." _she thought with wry humor.

By the time she got to the docks, the waves were crashing on the docks and many of the people had left. The skies were dark and so were the seas. She hurried up the gangplank onto her boat, _The Bogart._ The ship wasn't a big or fancy one, a sixty-foot wheel-boat. Typical of tugs and small shipping boats. Sam was almost breathless as she raced into the cabin and picked up the radio and turned it on.

She adjusted the dials as the radio hissed with static. She watched as the readout flickered and changed. She frowned as she saw how bad the storm was interfering. The ship rocked as the waves crashed and the wind howled. She hoped and prayed as she adjusted the settings of her radio.

She knew there were more than three Nazis around. There was just no way there could only be three. The Nazis always hunted in groups. Rather like jackals. A million thoughts ran through her head as she brought up the mic.

"_Bogart_ to _Vortex_, _Bogart_ to _Vortex_, come in _Vortex_ . . ." she panted as her wet hair hung down. The radio hissed with static. She frowned. She repeated the hail, be received more static for her efforts. She growled as she replaced the microphone.

She looked out at the dangerous seas. She didn't want to, but she had no other choice. If she didn't move fast, they might find Mac before she did. If they hadn't already. Sam fired up the engines. As she pulled the boat out of the docks, the radio hissed again, this time as another voice came on.

"_Sam, what the hell are you doing?!"_ yelled a male voice over the static. She frowned as she turned the wheel.

"There's trouble and I have to warn Mac. If he shows up, tell him I'm looking for him, and warn him there's Off-Worlders gunning for him," she said as she steered out to sea.

"_What else is new? Everybody and their aunt are gunning for Mac."_ Sam frowned further as she adjusted for a was true. Mac had made more than his fair share of enemies over the years.

"Not like this, Carl. These are SS." she replied. The line was silent.

"_This storm is going to get really bad really quick. You might make it if you really lean on the throttle,"_ said Carl, the Dock-Foreman. Sam smiled, despite the situation.

"Thanks, Carl." What she heard in response might have been a sigh, she couldn't tell through the static. The waves crashed and the wind howled louder as Sam streamed towards the island where Mac lived and landed. Every now and then she looked out the windows as the storm became worse. She just hoped and prayed that she could beat the storm.

Her boat was only a small tug with two wheels, rather like the old-fashioned paddle-wheelers from Ancient Earth. Her boat wasn't built for speed. Sam was fighting the panic as she listened to the engines as she sped through the stormy seas.

She could still hardly believe that the Nazis were there on Zerichs II.

How had they gotten in? Sam shook her head as she increased her speed. There were only a few possibilities and they all made her shudder. Either they had landed illegally, or they had snuck in. Possibly in shipping containers. The last thought made her freeze.

Shipping containers . . . Like the kind Mac hauled on a regular basis.

Sam suddenly hit the throttle and pushed it as far as it would go. Sam was panting now. Her mind was filled with images of dozens of Nazis coming out of shipping containers in Mac's ship and ganging up on him. Sam frowned deeply as the engines whined under the strain. The sky suddenly lit up with lightning. Sam's eyes flicked to the screens and she growled as she saw her radar and other instruments were nothing but fuzzy screens of static due to the storm. She shook her head as she looked out through the windows and the pouring rain.

No! She wasn't going to let that happen. She was going to get there, she would beat the storm. Mac was going to be fine. Sam was startled when the ship rocked violently and a loud noise echoed through the boat. Sam was almost knocked over. She looked around in alarm. "What in the-?"

"_Warning! Warning! Inner and outer hull breached. Engaging emergency bilge system,"_ said the automated voice of the computer. Sam gawked.

" _'Hull breach'_?!" Sam yelled. She reached out and pressed a switch and watched the screen as it changed. In seconds, it showed a video feed from below deck, a large hole in the hull and sea water gushing in at an alarming rate. Sam blinked as she looked at the screen. She saw the cause of the breach clearly: Coralyte.

The floating coral, though beautiful and important to the ecosystem, was a danger to sailors. Sam fought the urge to panic and grasped the radio as her other hand flicked on the emergency SOS beacon. "Mayday! This is _The_ _Bogart_, I have a massive hull breach! Need assistance immediately! Any ships please respond!" The radio hissed with static. Sam radioed for help several times before she gasped as a large wave crashed on her small boat. When she looked down, she was already up to her ankles in water. Sam was breathing hard as she saw how fast she was taking on water.

Sam looked around. She didn't like the idea, but she had no choice but to abandon ship. Sam moved her wheelchair back, and not a second too soon, as a large piece of Coralyte smashed through the windows to her right. She was startled as it came close to killing her. As it was, though, it had her trapped. With how the long piece was laying, she was trapped. She couldn't get out the door and she couldn't go anywhere else but down below.

She looked down and saw the water was up to her knees and the seat was soaking. She tried desperately not to panic as she engaged the emergency pontoons of her chair. Being paralyzed from the waist down, Sam had made sure she had fail-safes, but she doubted what good it would do. She reached for the radio, grunting as she saved the microphone from falling in the water.

She hurriedly pulled it over, the cord stretching as far as it would go. Sam panted as she looked around. "Mayday! This is _The_ _Bogart_, anybody please respond! I'm trapped in here! I'm taking on water, fast!" Sam gasped as another wave swept in through the broken windows. She held the microphone out of the water as it got higher. Sam felt the fear chill her as her voice trembled.

"Please, anyone . . . help." she began to sob softly as the storm raged and the waves crashed.

The next wave made her panic as she felt the water suddenly splash against her face. "Help me, please help me! Anybody!" the water was getting higher and higher as lighting cracked right over her, deafening in its massive blast. The front of the boat was almost under water now. Sam didn't care if she was panicking, now. She held the microphone tightly as she yelled. "Anybody, please! Anybody help me!" The next wave almost fully flooded the small cabin of the boat as Sam fought to keep her head out of the water as she screamed desperately into the mic.

"_Help! Help me!_" she screamed, loud and shrill before her cries were cut off by the water at last. She managed to take a partial breath before the water covered her head. Underwater, she could see the lights from the lightning dancing on the surface of the ocean that was quickly receding further and further away. She fought, desperately to free her chair from the Coralyte that kept her trapped.

She was startled when she looked up and saw the lights had been above her and not to the sides. The boat had turned and the front was now facing up. As if fate wanted her to take one last look at the surface she would never see again. The overwhelming panic and fear gave way to sadness as Sam watched the lights dance on the surface.

Sam thought of MacReady. She felt like she had failed her friend.

She couldn't tell if she cried, as her tears were gone into the sea the instant they left her eyes.

Her burning lungs finally could stand no more as sea water flooded into her lungs. Her arms were so weak, they floated helplessly upward as the edges of her vision quickly began to dim.

She looked up, and she could see a light at the end of the increasing tunnel of dark. She had always heard about the light, but never thought on what it looked like. It rippled like the waves. The darkness of her vision was quickly blocking out the light. As she looked at her floating hand, she thought she saw something.

A dark shape, silhouetted against the light. It moved with magnificent grace through the water, seeming to swim towards her. It was almost serpentine. Then, darkness filled her vision completely, and her mind faded away.

XXX

Sam was surprised when her vision came back. It was very blurry, though. She could see a shape moving, and she could see light. She felt numb all over. Her body, her mind, all of it was numb.

She slowly felt her hearing return. At first, she couldn't tell what she was hearing. As she felt her hearing come back into order, she recognized it was a voice, though she couldn't make out what it was saying at first.

"_-okay. You're safe. You're going to be all right."_ the voice said. It was soft, and had a hint of melody to it. It seemed to be a male voice, but a young one. Sam shuddered as she felt some feeling come back, if only a little. Then, she felt warm, and fuzzy. Like she was wrapped in a warm, fuzzy heating blanket. It was then that she realized something.

She was _breathing_. She saw something through her eyelashes and turned her head slightly.

She could see something blocking light above her. She focused her eyes, forcing them to show her.

Her vision slowly began to clear, and she saw gold. Golden hair, backlit by the light above as the person looked at her. Worried emerald eyes looked at her from under bangs of sun-bleached blonde hair. Sam took another breath of the wonderful fresh air as she gave a soft smile, realizing that she was in an Autodoc.

The person over her smiled back, but it was a worried one. As Sam began to feel sleepy, and the edges of her vision blurred, she saw another form block out the light as it looked down at her.

Sam had never seen anything like this one, though. She couldn't make out the vague, large form next to the worried face. It was dark, like obsidian. Her tired eyes couldn't take anymore, and closed on their own. She heard the soft voice again and she smiled. _"Don't worry. You're going to be just fine._"

**Author's note:** This story is dedicated in loving memory to my Grandma, who instilled in me, among many things, the love of reading and storytelling. Thanks, Grams.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Sam moaned softly as she came back to consciousness. She could feel warm blankets around her and knew she was in a bed. She breathed in and could smell the wonderful smell of air-dried laundry all around her. She slowly opened her eyes. The images were fuzzy at first, but they cleared rather quickly. She could see a white ceiling with brown timbers in it.

She was a little worried at first, being in a strange place. Then she remembered what had happened, and she felt relief that she was alive. She gave a soft groan as she tilted her head and looked around. The room was fairly plain. White ceiling and walls, wooden floors and a chest of drawers. The door was open just a crack.

Sam grunted in discomfort as she felt pain in her legs. She grimaced. It wasn't the first time she had felt "Phantom Pains". She sighed as she pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked around.

Soft light was filtering in through curtains covering a window. Judging by the color of the light, she guess it was still cloudy and stormy outside. As Sam closed her eyes, she thought back on what had happened and frowned. She hoped and prayed that Mac was okay. She wished she had been able to move her legs, or at least feel them. She was so absorbed in thought, she almost missed a new sensation.

Her eyes snapped open as an almost forgotten sensation reached her brain: the feeling of cloth moving against her foot.

She looked down at her feet. Sam forced her mind to recall the command and she stared at her feet. She almost died of shock when her toes wiggled slightly under the covers. Here eyes were wide as she stared at her feet in wonder. This wasn't possible! Sam just watched as she moved her toes, not believing what she was seeing. As the pain in her legs dulled, she began to smile as she moved her toes back and forth. Her smile grew.

She continued to stare at her feet as the door opened. After a few moments, she looked up, the same smile adorning her face. It was the same person she had seen before, but now, she was able to really get a good look at them.

It was a young man. His messy hair was a sun-bleached blonde color. His eyes were a lovely shade of emerald green. He was tall and slim, but not skinny. His physique made her think of a runner or a swimmer. His skin was slightly tanned, but not too pale, either. He was dressed in gray cargo pants and a denim shirt. He smiled softly as he came closer.

"How're you feeling?" he asked. Sam's smile grew even more. Her mind was almost frozen with so many thoughts and feelings. At first, she couldn't find her voice.

"I . . . I can feel my legs . . ." she said, almost not believing it. The young man smiled further.

"That's good. I'm glad," he said softly. Sam blinked as she looked up at him. His smile was soft and gentle. She laughed softly as tears ran.

"I . . . I don't know what to say. How did you-?" The young man smiled.

"The Autodoc on my ship is a good one." he replied. Sam began to laugh again. The young blonde came closer and looked at her. "You look much better, but you should still take it easy." Sam looked at him, the smile still on her face. "My name's Kyle," he said, offering his hand. Sam took it, almost hesitantly at first.

"I'm Sam." she replied. Kyle smiled and Sam felt her cheeks warm as she thought how handsome he was.

"Nice to meet you. Are you feeling hungry?" Sam smiled at his kindness.

"Not very. Thank you, though." Kyle nodded.

"Well, if you need anything, just call. Okay?" Sam nodded, the smile never leaving her face.

With that, Kyle left the room, gently closing the door behind him. Sam looked back at her feet in amazement as she wiggled her toes.

As Kyle closed the door, he sighed softly as he looked up at the ceiling, where one spot was much darker than the other shadows.

_Kyle, how is she?_

_Much better, Sophie._ Kyle felt Sophie's relief. He watched as the shadow silently dropped to the floor and stood upright and he smiled at the beautiful, tall and dark being. The eight-foot tall Alien gently placed a hand on Kyle's shoulder and hissed very softly as her tail brushed his legs.

_Why was she out in storm like that?_ Sophie asked. Kyle frowned as he put his hands in his pockets.

_I don't know, but if what she was mumbling about in her sleep is anything to go on, she was trying to warn her friend, "Mac" about Dr. Reinhardt's "colleagues"._ Kyle could feel Sophie's unease.

Kyle could hardly believe that Nazis were actually on Zerichs II.

_Then, we should warn her friend. And tell him she's all right._ Kyle agreed as he walked off to try to find out who this "Mac" was and how to get in touch with him, Sophie following.

XXX

Sam was almost delirious with excitement. She wasn't paralyzed anymore! She still had a hard time believing that it was real. She spent her time focusing on moving her toes, then her feet. The muscles in her legs had atrophied somewhat over the years, despite her efforts to try to stave it off.

As a result, moving her legs was a little more of a challenge, but at least she could.

Sam looked up as the door opened and Kyle walked in with a tray and a tall glass of water and some food. She smiled as he set the tray over her.

"I brought you some water, some cheese and some crackers. Something light." Sam smiled as she sipped the water gratefully.

"Thank you so much. I can't begin to say how grateful I am," she said as she tried one of the crackers. Kyle gave the same soft, gentle smile as he nodded.

"Well, you're welcome. Just glad you're okay." Sam smiled at Kyle as she tried some of the cheese he had brought. It was wonderful and tangy. Kyle watched her for a moment before he spoke again. "By the way, what were you doing out in this storm, anyway?" Sam suddenly spit out the water she had been drinking and coughed. She looked up at him, startled. She had completely forgotten.

"Oh my god! The Nazis! I have to warn Mac! Maybe there's still time!" she began to panic and tried to get up. Kyle, startled by her outburst, stopped her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, take it easy! Calm down. Now, what's this about Nazis?" Kyle asked. Sam looked at him, her amber eyes filled with fear.

"They're after my friend! I know they are! I have to tell him before they can get the drop on him!" Kyle blinked as he stared at her. Sam frowned. "I'm telling the truth!"

"I believe you. Calm down. Who is your friend they're after?"

"Bryan MacReady. He's a ship Captain that hauls cargo." Sam looked at Kyle, her eyes pleading. "Please, I have to warn him!" Kyle gently smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll get the word to him. The storm is still interfering with transmissions, but I'll try. Just relax. I promise I'll warn your friend." Sam smiled, but it was laced with fear. Kyle gently patter her shoulder. "Drink some more water. You need it. I'll get on the radio. If I can't reach him, I'll try to get a hold of someone who can." With that, Kyle was gone. Sam sipped some more water as she tried to relax, without much success.

XXX

Kyle sighed with some relief as he turned off the radio. He had been hardly able to reach anywhere, but he had been able to reach his friend, Peter, who told him that MacReady was off-world, hauling cargo and hadn't returned yet. Peter had promised to get the warning out as soon as the storm let up, easing Kyle's mind. He leaned back in the chair of the ship as Sophie gently brushed his face with her hand.

_Don't worry, Kyle. They'll warn MacReady and tell him what's going on._ Sophie said. Kyle nodded as he looked at Sophie and smiled as her lips placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Kyle closed his eyes as Sophie softly wrapped her arms around him, gently nuzzling him.

_Thanks, Sophie._ Sophie pulled back and brushed a strand of blonde hair from his eyes.

_You're welcome, my mate._

XXX

Sam looked up as Kyle opened the door and entered her room. He smiled at her.

"MacReady is out hauling at the moment, so he's safe." Sam sighed heavily with relief. "And they're going to do a ricochet to get him a warning before he lands. Don't worry, he's well-warned." Sam laid back in her bed, relief flooding through her. A "Ricochet" was a local term for a message sent to local ships from the orbiting satellites.

"Thank you, Kyle. Thank you so much. For everything." Kyle just smiled at her.

"You're welcome." Kyle walked over and switched on the lamp next to Sam's bed, bathing the room in a soft glow. "The storm is going to last about a week, more or less." Sam nodded. Kyle stood back, his hands in his pockets and the same soft smile. "Me and my partner have to make sure our aqua-farm is secure. When we get back, we'll all have dinner together." Sam returned the smile.

"That sounds nice." Kyle nodded and left. Sam sighed as she laid back. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. She smiled softly as she pulled the blankets closer. She could ask Kyle at dinner.

Kyle walked down the hall from Sam's room until he stood next to a doorway. He smiled as a large, black hand reached out and gently took his, holding it gently.

_Sophie, are you sure about this?_ He received a positive.

_Yes, Kyle. I think she's a nice person. I think we can trust her._ Sophie replied. Kyle was still a little apprehensive, but agreed. Sophie had always been a very good judge of people. Sophie purred gently as she stroked his hair. Kyle smiled as he gently touched her face.

_Well, I'll go get dinner ready . . ._ said Kyle as he headed for the kitchen.

XXX

Sam looked up as Kyle opened the door, wheeling her wheelchair in. Sam's smile slipped as she stared at the mechanical contraption with distaste. Kyle smiled at her.

"You still need this. Sad to say, you're not going to be walking overnight." Sam sighed and agreed as Kyle brought the chair next to the bed. Sam slid out of the bed and into the chair with practiced ease. She noticed that the seat was now dry. She looked up at Kyle and he smiled.

"Lead the way." Kyle smiled as he did just that.

As Sam followed Kyle out into the hallway, she took note of the lamps in the walls and the soft, pinkish glow from their glass. She smiled. Kyle's home had a very cozy, soft atmosphere to it. As they came into the living room, Sam noticed there were quite a few paintings on the walls. She was distracted by the wonderful smell of dinner. She knew the smell of chowder, and she was almost drooling.

Kyle motioned to an empty spot at the table. Sam smiled as she parked her wheelchair at the table. Kyle ladled out some steamy chowder from a large pot in the middle of the table, added some bread with butter and some crackers. Sam beamed as he set the bowl and plate down. Kyle's smile was as warm and gentle as ever. Sam was almost at a loss for words. "Thank you," she said, feeling her cheeks warm.

"You're welcome." the blonde replied as he served himself his portion. Sam took a spoonful of the wonderful chowder and smiled at the delightful taste. She could taste fresh prawn as well as fish, clams and potatoes. It was wonderful and creamy. Sam noted there was plenty of prawn and clams in Kyle's chowder, but that was to be expected; Zerichs Prawns grew to be as large as a small dog.

Sam noticed Kyle fill a third bowl with the chowder and set it in front of another chair. That reminded her.

"Oh, where's your partner?" Sam asked before taking another spoonful of the delightful chowder. Kyle smiled as he poured them some hot tea with honey in it.

"Oh, she'll be along in a bit." he replied. Sam felt her stomach tighten just a little. She had been going to ask if Kyle was single,but now she thought better of it.

"So, where are we?" Sam asked. Kyle smiled as he sipped his tea.

"Eramore Island." he replied. Sam blinked as she stared at him.

Eramore Island was nicknamed "Eerie Island" by locals, as it was so close to Monk's Mountain Island, not to mention it was home to the fabled Foggy Forest. She didn't think anyone lived there.

Kyle noticed her surprised look and chuckled softly. "Don't worry, the island's reputation is most unearned." Sam sighed softly as she ate some more.

"So, how long have you lived here?" she asked, trying to make conversation. Kyle smiled as he sipped some chowder broth.

"Two years." he replied as he dipped his bread in the chowder. Sam looked at the chowder and smiled.

"And you said you're an aqua-farmer." she stated. Kyle nodded as he sipped some tea. Sam smiled as she ate another spoonful of the chowder. "You never said anything about being a cook." Kyle smiled more at that as Sam gave a wide grin. "And a good one at that." Kyle chuckled at that.

"Oh, by the way," he said, catching her attention. "Your boat is fine. We fished it out and it's resting aground at the moment." Sam's mouth dropped open and she dropped her spoon into her bowl in disbelief. Kyle looked a little amused at her look. "It's a little dinged up, but I think we can knock the dents out of it." Sam blinked as she stared at him.

"Uh, I . . . how did you-?" Kyle smiled.

"We hooked it up to our ship and hauled it out." Sam could hardly believe what she was hearing. She looked down at the bowl of chowder, then up at Kyle and his soft smile. She had just met him, and already she owed him more than anyone else. Not only had he saved her life and her livelihood, he had given back to her something she thought she could never get back. Despite the tears forming, she smiled as she looked at him.

"Kyle . . . I can't find the words . . . I don't know what to say." Kyle just smiled back at her.

"You already thanked me, Sam. Besides, I just hauled your boat out and piloted the ship. My partner is the one who dove in after you." Sam blinked. Kyle smiled at her. Sam sighed as she took a healthy swig of tea.

"Yeah, that's right. You haven't told me about your partner. What's she like?" Kyle smiled, and Sam thought that he glowed, he looked so happy thinking about her.

"There's nobody else like her in the whole of creation." Sam felt that he looked like a man trying to describe what paradise was like. "She's my very best friend and so much more. She's smart, she's strong, she's gentle and she's protective." Kyle looked at Sam, and his green eyes seemed to sparkle like real gems. "She is what is best in people." Sam smiled. Kyle spoke as a man who was completely, hopelessly and irrevocably in love.

"So, when will she be joining us? I don't want her dinner to get cold." Kyle smiled.

"She'll be along in a minute. One thing, though," Sam raised an eyebrow. Kyle took a breath.

"She's not a human." Sam blinked. On Zerichs II, there were many people besides humans. She guessed Kyle and his partner had been the subject of racism before. Sam smiled.

"Oh, is she Arcturian? I have a friend who's Arcturian." Kyle smiled and shook his head lightly.

"No. She's different." Sam kept her smile as she ate another spoonful of the chowder.

"Well, I don't mind. I want to meet her." Kyle smiled as he leaned to the side slightly, looking past Sam.

"Sophie, darling? Would you come in?" Sam blinked and turned around. She blinked as she stared. The tall form easily towered over her and Kyle. It was black as midnight. It stood upright on two spindly-looking legs. The head was long and curved, a long tail slowly waved behind it. Sam noticed that it had no eyes. Part of her was frightened as she took in the skeletal appearance of it, but she recalled what Kyle had said.

This was his partner.

Kyle smiled from his seat as Sam stared at her. "Sam, I'd like you to meet Sophie." Sam couldn't find her voice for a few moments. She had never seen anything like her. She noticed that Sophie stayed where she was, seeming to wait for her to make the first move. Sam turned her chair around to face her as Sophie slowly came closer. As Sophie knelt down to be at Sam's level, she found her voice.

"It's nice to meet you, Sophie." Sam said, smiling. She was surprised when Sophie's lips turned upwards into a smile of her own. Sam chuckled. "Thank you for saving me." Sophie replied with a soft moan as she gently nodded her head. Sam's smile grew as Sophie took her place at the table.

Kyle spent the rest of dinner explaining to Sam how he and Sophie had met, how Sophie had been born, how they had escaped and how they had come to Zerichs II.

Sam was shocked, especially when she heard the name of the man in charge of the experiment.

"_Reinhardt?!_ You mean Dr. Alan Lothar Reinhardt?! _That_ Reinhardt?!" Sam could hardly believe her ears, but Kyle had the proof.

He had found documents among the gold Reinhardt had stashed in his ship, all of them in German. Kyle wasn't too surprised to learn that Dr. Reinhardt was to the Fifth Reich, what Mengele was to the Third Reich.

Sam, for her part, wasn't surprised that a Nazi was working for Weyland-Yutani, but it made her uneasy, especially since the Reich came first. Kyle agreed. From what he had learned, translating the documents, it looked like the not-so-good Dr. was giving the information and results of his research to the Nazis first, if he ever gave it to W-Y at all. The thought made Sam shiver.

On the lighter side, Sam was fascinated by Sophie, and how she had grown. When Kyle showed her the scar on his chest, he gained an interesting little bit of insight on Sam's background.

"For a scar from a surgery like that that's only two years old, the healing is incredible." Indeed, the scar was only faintly visible, and was barely raised at all. Kyle was at a loss to explain, as was Sophie, but Sam had a theory. "It must be Horizontal Gene Transfer." Kyle blinked. Sam explained.

"Because when Sophie grew inside you, you received some of her cells, her DNA. It mixed with yours. Your healing has sped up as a result." Sophie hissed softly at this.

_Kyle, she talks like she knows medicine._ Kyle agreed.

When dinner was done, they all had a much better understanding of each other. Sam smiled as she looked at Sophie and Kyle. Sophie's tail was wrapped around Kyle's waist and his lower chest as she purred softly. Despite her slightly threatening appearance, Sophie was calm, gentle and kind.

Sam already liked her.

Kyle sighed as he cleared the table.

"Let me put these in the sink and I'll get things ready for bed." Sam looked out a window and could see how dark it was outside. Night had long since fallen and the wind was howling again. Sam was still processing what Kyle had told her. She noticed Sophie standing up as Kyle returned. Sophie gave a soft moan, coupled with a soft hiss.

"She says it's nice to meet you, and you're welcome in our home." Kyle said gently. Sam smiled at Sophie.

"It's so wonderful to meet you. Thank you again." Sophie acknowledged with a nod of her head. With that, Kyle led Sam back to her room while Sophie brought some more blankets and some spare clothes.

Thankfully, since Sam was as tall as Kyle, his spare clothes would fit. When they were done, Sam's bed was piled high with warm blankets, soft pillows and comforters. She thanked them again before they left to go to bed themselves. As Sam slipped into the soft bed, she smiled as she snuggled under the blankets. She felt so happy, she was almost walking on air. She smiled wider as she closer her eyes. Speaking of walking, she couldn't wait to get started on the road to recovery.

XXX

Sophie purred, lowering the sound into the familiar thrum that she used when she was comfortable and happy with her mate as they entered their bedroom.

The whole of the room was covered, floor to ceiling, with the thick, hard resin that Sophie's kind made their hives from. The biomechanical images looked like bones, tubes and all manner of strange things, but to Kyle, it was home. The bed was of a basic, four-post canopy-bed design like those from Ancient Earth and Old Europe, but the construction was almost as Alien as one could get.

The posts, which reached almost to the ceiling, were made of the same resin as half of the room. The same was true for the frame of the bed. The curtains that covered it were of an off-white silken material that was of the same origins as the resin. Sophie had made it all.

The room was their sanctuary; a place of peace. The bed Sophie had made to be their nest.

A love-nest. It was warm, protective and private. It was perfect. Sophie nuzzled him as they walked to the bed and Kyle unbuttoned his shirt.

Sophie crawled into the bed, caressing the silken sheets as Kyle removed his cargo pants and socks before swinging his legs under the covers where Sophie wrapped her tail around his waist as she pulled the blankets over them. Kyle smiled as he felt the softness of the bed envelope his body and the warmth of Sophie's mind wrap around his own.

_I really like Sam, Kyle. She's a nice person._ Kyle smiled as he stroked Sophie's face.

_She is. I'm so thankful we were able to get there in time._ Sophie agreed. Kyle still remembered the chilling screams for help Sam had yelled over the static. Sophie felt Kyle's unease and swept the unpleasant thoughts away. Kyle was grateful to her. If not for her, he knew that Sam's screams would haunt him, even though they had saved her. Sophie gently kissed Kyle on the forehead as she wrapped her arms around him.

_I love you, Kyle. My darling._ Kyle smiled as he softly kissed Sophie on her soft lips.

_And I love you, my wonderful lady._ With that, they drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Sam woke to the gentle sounds of rain pattering on the windows. She drew in a breath, taking in the clean smell of the sheets and blankets surrounding her. She opened her eyes as she smiled. She felt better than she had in a long time. She stretched before sitting up. She looked up at the window and saw water on the glass. It was still raining.

She threw the covers off and dressed in some fresh clothes before she looked at her wheelchair. She loathed the machine, but knew that she still would need it for the time being. With a sigh, she pulled herself into the chair and started it up. She opened her door and peered out. She blinked as she looked up and down the hallway.

"Kyle? Sophie? Are you there?" Sam called. There was no response. Carefully, she went down the hall and into the living room. Since it was day, she was better able to see her surroundings.

The living room was plain, but also comforting. The same brown timbers ran across the ceiling. The walls were white. There was a mantle and several shells of various types sat in it.

A beautiful painting hung over the mantle, a watercolor of a ship in a storm, returning to port by the light of a lighthouse on a cliff. Sam smiled. She noticed a few other things hanging on the walls.

Some nets, buoys and floats and other things associated with fishing and the sea. Sam looked over and saw a sofa sitting against a wall, another painting above it. This one, also a watercolor, was of a beautiful meadow, bathed in golden sunlight, surrounded by a forest and bursting with flowers. Sam moved over to look closer at it.

As Sam looked at the painting, she noticed something in her vision. She looked up and was a little startled to see Sophie in the hallway, looking at her. At least, she thought she was. Since Sophie didn't have eyes, it was hard to tell. "Oh, uh, good morning, Sophie," Sam said. She watched as Sophie approached, then opened a drawer in a small table next to the sofa and pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil. Sam watched as Sophie scribbled on the paper, then handed it to her. Sam blinked as she took the pad and looked at it.

**GOOD MORNING SAM. ** Sam was amazed. The handwriting was so elegant and flowing.

Sam smiled as she looked up at Sophie, who returned the smile.

Sam and Sophie spent the next hour or so talking and getting to know one another. Sophie had retrieved a touch-pad and used it to type. Through all of it, Sam couldn't help but marvel at the amazing being she was talking with. She smiled at the sight of Sophie, curled on the sofa like a cat, the touch-pad in one of her large hands, seeming the picture of tranquility and calmness.

Then, Sophie looked up and purred. Sam looked up and couldn't help a giggle at Kyle's messy hair as he walked in.

"Good morning, you two," he said as he approached. Sophie purred louder as her tail extended out and curled around him and pulled him close as she sat up. Sam watched as Sophie pulled Kyle into her lap and purred happily as she wrapped her arms around him as she nuzzled his face. Sam thought they were the cutest couple she had ever seen. It was obvious, just at a glance, how very much in love they were. Kyle smiled his usual soft smile as he looked at Sam. "I'm glad you're feeling better." Sam nodded.

"Yes. I was just telling Sophie." Kyle smiled further.

"I know. I'm glad Sophie has a friend." Sam watched as Sophie purred and held Kyle so lovingly.

"I'm glad, too. She's a wonderful, sensitive person." Sam noticed Kyle's smile turn a little mischievous at that.

"Oh, that she is," he said as he reached down with his hand and his fingers lightly tickled the sole of Sophie's foot. Sophie hissed and jerked her foot away from Kyle's dancing fingers. His smile grew. Sam giggled as Sophie gave a soft, stuttering hiss as she tightened her grip on Kyle. Sam would never have guessed that a creature like Sophie would be ticklish.

Kyle watched as Sam giggled and he smiled. Her eyes sparkled and her mocha skin seemed to glow with warmth and life. A part of Kyle's mind registered that Sam was very beautiful, but it was in the back of his mind. Sophie never needed to worry about competition, because she had, in Kyle's own words "Ruined me for human women." as he had put it. Sophie was his one and only. Feeling his thoughts, Sophie purred as she tightened her grip on him gently, a long finger brushing a strand of hair from his face.

Sam, for her part, watched with warm amusement as Sophie cuddled Kyle.

"I can't begin to thank you both enough." Kyle smiled his usual, soft smile, and Sophie's lips turned up at her thanks.

"You're welcome, Sam." Sophie softly moaned her agreement. As Sam looked at her legs, she thought of a question she had forgotten to ask.

"I wanted to ask you, how did you fix my spine?" Kyle blinked as he looked up at Sophie.

_Should we?_ Kyle asked. Sophie gently brushed his face with her fingers.

_Yes. We can trust her._ With that, Sophie uncurled from around Kyle and flowed gracefully down the hall and out of sight. Kyle smiled at Sam.

"She'll be back in a minute." Sophie returned shortly, carrying a small glass tube. Sam blinked as Sophie held the tube out to her. She took it as Sophie returned to her position on the couch as Sam studied the contents of the tube.

Inside was what looked like some sort of crystallized substance. It was white, but had a quality to it that reminded her of Mother of Pearl. The crystal was about the size of her thumbnail. Sam blinked as she looked up at Kyle and Sophie.

"It's very beautiful, but what is it?" Sophie softly moaned as she held Kyle, gently stroking his hair.

"This is Life-Jelly. This is what healed your spine." Sam gave a soft gasp as she looked at the tube in her hand. Sam stared for a few moments before she looked back up at Kyle and Sophie.

"Where did you get this?" Kyle smiled warmly as he stroked Sophie's face.

"You have Sophie's people to thank." Sam blinked.

"You mean this came from her?" Kyle lightly shook his head.

"This came from one of the other eggs that Reinhardt found, but Sophie's was the only one that hatched." Sam looked closer at the crystallized jelly in the tube. Kyle watched as she studied it, turning the tube in her hands. "The closest analogy I can come up with for it is the Royal Jelly of bees." Sam looked up at Kyle, eyes wide.

"Wait, do you mean . . . that this came from a Queen?" Kyle smiled and Sophie purred.

"Exactly." Sam blinked as she processed everything. She looked at Sophie and smiled.

"Wait, if they're like bees, that means that they're all-" Kyle's smile turned into a grin.

"Yes. They're all female." Sophie purred as she nuzzled Kyle happily.

"Then you must be something special for her." Sam giggled. Sophie wrapped her tail around Kyle as she purred louder.

_Oh, he is. He is . . ._ said Sophie, letting the warmth of her mind flow into Kyle's. The young blonde smiled as he felt his cheeks warm. Sam looked at the tube once more before she handed it back to Kyle. "So, this came from one of the other eggs? Does that mean that all eggs with Queens in them have this in them?" Kyle nodded.

"Yes. Sophie and other . . ." Kyle trailed off as he frowned in a thoughtful manner. Sophie touched his face gently as she hissed so softly, it was almost inaudible. He smiled as he looked back at Sam. "Warriors, like her, can produce it in small amounts in their throats as well." Sam blinked.

"Do they feed it to the babies when they hatch?" Kyle frowned ever so slightly and shook his head.

"No. When a Mother, a Queen, dies and there are no eggs with other Queens in them, the Warriors can feed the Life-Jelly to a host that already has an embryo implanted, which will change it into a Queen." Kyle explained. Sam was surprised. She looked at the glass tube in Kyle's hands in thought. She looked up at him.

"Did Reinhardt know what it is?" Kyle smiled softly.

"Thankfully, no. He knew from his research that it's a powerful immune-booster, but other than that, he had no idea what it was." Sam sighed with some relief.

"I can only imagine what that madman would do with it if he had known what it really was."

"Even though he didn't know fully what it was, he had some plans for it." Sam eyed Kyle with some alarm. "From what I read in his files, he theorized that it could be used as a protein-base for engineering viral weaponry." Sam sighed and shook her head.

"Not surprising. Something wonderful that could help people, and they want to weaponize it." Sophie hissed her agreement as she tightened her grip on Kyle gently. Sam shook her head and smiled as she looked up at Kyle and Sophie. "Changing the subject, where are you from originally?" Sophie gave a hiss as Kyle felt his stomach tighten at the question. Kyle closed his eyes and took a breath.

"I . . . grew up in the ghettos on Berren Prime." Sam felt like someone slapped her across the face.

Berren Prime was one of the harshest, most unforgiving mining worlds in colonized space.

Exposure to the rampant heavy metals and other toxins, coupled with the dangers of the mines meant that the average life expectancy for a man was thirty-five. Children died at rates of hundreds every month.

Just as the phrase "Tough as nails" had carried a meaning of exceptional resilience in previous centuries, the phrase "Harder than a Berren" had an even harder edge. It was the kind of world where, if you could leave, you would. Only the strongest, most exceptional individuals dared to stay, and they were in a class all their own.

Sam was left reeling from this revelation. She watched as Sophie moaned, cuddling Kyle and caressing his face lovingly as she comforted him.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-" Kyle smiled and shook his head, despite the tears.

"It's all right. With Sophie's help, I'm getting over it." Sophie gently kissed Kyle on the cheek as she purred softly, lowering the sound into the comforting thrum that was so familiar to his ears. "I grew up in an orphanage. I left the very day I turned eighteen. Ironically, it was Weyland-Yutani that offered me a way off." Sam nodded in understanding.

Sophie brushed a strand of hair from Kyle's eyes, her thumb wiping a tear away as he continued. "I'm so grateful to Sophie, because she helped me remember my parents." Sam watched as Sophie held Kyle's hand as she seemed to gently rock back and forth with him in her lap. "I was about three when they left me with my Grandma. They were aid-workers. They went to help people in the Malera Conflict." Sam gasped at the name.

"Oh my god . . ." Sam could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"As you have already guessed, they never returned. My Grandma took good care of me, but she was old. She died in her sleep. I was so small, I didn't know why she wouldn't wake up." Sam watched as Sophie comforted her mate as he told the story. "Then I was put into the orphanage. I was there until I turned eighteen." Sophie softly nuzzled Kyle's face as she thrummed. Kyle looked at Sam, his eyes sparkling with tears. "I had almost forgotten my parents."

Kyle smiled as he touched Sophie's face, leaning his head against hers. "She helped me to remember." Sam couldn't help a tear of her own. "I'm ashamed to say, for a long time, I thought they abandoned me." Sophie thrummed deeper and louder. Sam could hear it from where she sat. Sam smiled sadly at the tale.

"I know they tried to get back." Sam offered. Kyle smiled at her as another tear streaked down his face.

"Yes. I also know they somehow had a hand in guiding me to Sophie." Sophie nuzzled her mate as she stroked his hair lovingly. Sam sniffed as she wiped a tear away.

"I'm so sorry I brought it up, Kyle. I didn't mean to." Kyle smiled and shook his head.

"Don't be sorry, Sam. You didn't know. I don't blame you, and neither does Sophie." Sophie shook her head gently. Sam smiled as she took a fistful of her pants.

"I know very well how bad the Malera Conflict was, because I was there, too." Kyle gasped and Sophie hissed with surprise. Sam looked at them, her amber eyes filled with tears of her own.

"I was a doctor, just fresh out of medical school. They needed any medical personnel they could find." Sam laughed mirthlessly. "I saw more unusual injuries and horrible things in my first day than most doctors see their entire careers." Sam frowned deeply as her grip on her pants tightened. "That was also where I was paralyzed." Kyle frowned as he listened, Sophie gave a sad moan.

Sam sighed as she looked elsewhere. "Our field hospital was hit by artillery, and friendly fire at that. I was trapped under the wreckage of the mobile hospital unit." Kyle stared at Sam as she told her own story. "At first, I was afraid I would be burned alive by the fire, but it died out. I yelled for help until I was hoarse, but nobody came. Nobody, that is, until Mac found me." Kyle smiled ever so slightly.

"That was how you met your friend." he observed. Sam nodded.

"He carried me to a safehouse and had my wounds treated, but my spine had been broken.

Mac had been there to deliver cargo of supplies to civilians and other people in need. But the United Systems Military caught them and accused them of aiding rebels and shipping weapons. They lined his whole crew up, including his younger brother, and shot them all. In cold blood." Kyle was aghast. Sophie hissed angrily hearing it. "Mac was trying to escape when he found me."

Sam sighed as she ran her hand over the metal of her wheelchair. "Since I was just a civilian doctor, the United Systems Military said they didn't need to pay for a spinal to fix my paralysis. After that, Mac took me with him. That was how I ended up here. He helped me get my feet under me, so to say, and find a boat and I've been doing that ever since." Sam sighed as she looked up at Kyle and Sophie. "And that brings us up to date." Kyle smiled sadly and placed his hand over Sam's. Sophie moaned softly as she placed her hand over both of theirs.

Kyle gripped Sam's hand and Sophie held theirs. Sam smiled at Kyle and Sophie. "I can't begin to tell you how much it means what you've done for me." Kyle smiled as Sophie gently curled her tail behind Sam.

"We're not done helping you. We're going to fix your boat, and we're going to help you walk again. You're our friend. That's what friends do." Sam smiled as new tears welled up. Sophie moaned softly as she looked at Kyle. Kyle's smile grew as he looked back at Sam. "Sophie agrees. She says if you need anything, _anything_, don't be afraid to ask her." Sam looked at Sophie as Kyle's mate smiled.

"She also says she's going to help you walk again." Sam blinked.

"How?" Sophie's tail gently wrapped around Sam's waist as her eyes grew wide. Sophie purred as she lifted Sam upright, her feet just barely touching the floor. Sam looked down and laughed as she saw her feet planted on the floor. Kyle smiled from where he was in Sophie's lap as Sam smiled the happiest, most brilliant smile he had ever seen on another human.

XXX

For the next week, Sophie helped Sam to relearn how to walk, using her tail to help keep Sam upright and let her get her legs used to being used again. Sam got tired very quickly, but she was making good progress. Sophie also made sure that her friend didn't overdo it in her eagerness to walk.

Sam couldn't stop giggling when Sophie held her with her tail and waved the tip of it in front of Sam's face in a tsk-tsk manner. Kyle also helped. He also cooked food filled with good protein to rebuild atrophied muscles and helped in any other way he could.

The weather forecast had been right, as the storm passed in the week they had stated. Sam was excited to see outside, as she had never seen the interior of Eramore Island. Going outside with Kyle and Sophie, she was stunned at what she saw.

Kyle and Sophie's house sat in the middle of a grassy clearing in the forest. The trees were at least a hundred feet tall. She recognized most of them as Zerichs "Swamp Oaks", although they actually weren't oaks at all. She could smell the sea on the fresh air as a soft morning breeze blew through her black hair. Sam smiled as she looked around. Kyle smiled as he watched, his hands in his pockets.

"Cozy, isn't it?" he asked. Sam smiled as she looked at him.

"It's beautiful." Kyle nodded as he and Sophie walked around their white house to a small greenhouse. Kyle scoffed as he opened the door and entered.

"Oh, you . . ." he said, a slightly exasperated tone to his voice before he reemerged, holding a black and white rabbit in his arms. A fat one, at that. At the sight of Sophie, the rabbit wiggled free of Kyle's grasp and leaped towards Sophie, extending its legs and gliding over to her open arms with the flaps of skin between its legs. Sam stared, amazed. It was one of the genetically engineered rabbits that had been brought into space and colonial worlds and had gone wild.

Scientists had attempted to engineer rabbits and other creatures to be more adaptive. The "Flying Rabbits" were one of the successes. Sam watched as Sophie gently petted the rabbit, who looked completely at home in her arms. Kyle smiled from where he was at the doorway of his greenhouse.

"That's Josey, Sophie's pet." Sam looked at Kyle, a warm smile adorning her face.

"She's cute. How'd you find her?" Kyle chuckled as he rearranged things in the greenhouse.

"Sophie found her, wounded in the woods after a storm. She was more than a little bruised from the winds." Sam came closer and watched as Kyle clipped a few plants that Josey had nibbled on.

"Sophie brought her in, we fed her and kept her warm, and she's stayed ever since." Sophie purred softly as she stroked Josey, who closed her eyes. Sam smiled.

Kyle chuckled as he stood up, hands on his hips. "As you can see, the little chub can barely fly, she's so well-fed." Sam giggled. Sophie purred once more before she set Josey down, who hopped over and settled down next to a bush near the house. Sam took the time to admire Kyle and Sophie's home.

It was a white house, two stories tall, with brown shingles. There were shutters beside each window, lending it a gentle, country atmosphere. Kyle smiled as he stepped forward. "We have to go check our aqua-farm and to do some harvesting. If you like, you can come with." Sam smiled and nodded. With that, Kyle led the way, Sophie following. Kyle looked back over his shoulder at Sam as he spoke. "Some of the paths we'll have to take are kind of narrow, so Sophie will have to carry you." Sam blinked as Sophie looked back at her, her lips curled upwards in a soft smile.

"I don't mind." Sam replied. Kyle nodded as they walked down a path through the forest.

As they went, Sam looked around and took in the sights, sounds and smells of the woods as they traveled through the Foggy Forest. Sam could see where it got the name. A layer of mist covered the ground. It wasn't very thick that day, but Sam could easily see it being thick enough to obscure the ground. The trip was fairly short, as they reached another clearing.

Sam looked up and stared as she saw her boat, _The_ _Bogart_, resting on the grass. Kyle smiled as he looked back at her.

"See? I said your boat was OK." Sam moved forward and inspected the damage. There was a large hole in the left side. She also could see where the glass of the cabin had been shattered by the Coralyte that had trapped and almost killed her. Sam touched the hull and looked back at Kyle.

"Thank you. So much." Kyle smiled and Sophie gave a soft moan. "How did you get it here?"

"I'll show you." Sam followed Kyle and Sophie to the edge of the clearing, where a tall spire of rock and Coralyte stood up, almost above the treetops. A huge cave was carved into the spire. As Sam wheeled through the large mouth of the cave, she stared at the craft sitting idle. "This is _The_ _Talon_. This is the ship Sophie and I escaped in." Sam looked at Kyle as he looked at the ship. "It may not be the biggest ship, but it's fast, and more than we'll ever need."

With that, Kyle led the way through to the back of the cave where the path began to curve downward. "This is where we need to leave the chair." Sam nodded as Sophie curled her tail around Sam and pulled her onto her back. Sam could feel the dampness of the rock and Coralyte around her as they went deeper. She could hear the crashing of waves and the calls of birds and animals. Then she could see light as they found the exit and entered one of the most beautiful lagoons Sam had ever beheld.

The sun was shining as the sound of waves echoed all around on the high cliff walls. Colorful flowers and plants bloomed from the cracks in the rock and Coralyte. The water was a deep, pure blue, but Sam could easily see the floor of the lagoon. She saw racks and cages filled with clams and oysters, prawns and even Albarrs, the famous "Zerichs Abalone".

She blinked as she looked out at the opening of the lagoon, and saw the opening had been covered with Coralyte that had countless holes carved in it, like a latticework. She smiled as Sophie purred under her and walked to the edge of the water. Kyle smiled as he took a deep breathe of the sea air. He looked at Sam and smiled as Sophie gave a soft moan. "She says she wants you to swim with her." Sam smiled.

"I'd love to." Sophie purred as she slid into the water, Sam on her back. She let Sam float off as she kept her tail around her waist. Kyle slipped into the water and swam over to look at some of the cages of prawns. Sam could hardly believe the bounty she was seeing. The water was fairly shallow, about fifteen feet deep at the most. Sam was able to remain at the surface as Kyle and Sophie tended their aqua-farm. Sam smiled as she kicked her legs, exercising the muscles and getting them used to being used again.

The day seemed to pass all too quickly. By the end of the day, they had harvested a veritable feast. Kyle and Sophie transferred their harvest to a small four-wheel drive rover and carried it back along the path to the house. Sam could hardly remember a time when she had more fun. Kyle and Sophie were happy, too.

When they got home, Sophie helped Kyle to clean and prepare the clams and Albarrs for Kyle's "Eramore Bisque", a dish Sophie loved. Sam giggled when she saw Sophie taking tastes of the bisque as Kyle was cooking, to which he would mockingly scold her. Sam had never seen such wonderful cooking. The bisque was rich, creamy and had just the right hint of tomato in it, without it conflicting with the other flavors. When dinner was over, Sam couldn't help a contented sigh as she stood from her chair with Sophie's help.

She had asked to sit at a normal chair this time. "Kyle, Sophie, I can't thank you two enough. You've helped me more since we met, than anyone has in all my life." Kyle smiled and Sophie purred. As Sam looked at her feet, she was shocked when she saw Sophie's tail wasn't around her.

She was still standing up.

Her eyes grew wide, as did her smile. She looked up, just as she wobbled. Sophie's tail shot out like lightning, catching Sam before she could fall. Sam smiled as the tip of Sophie's tail chided her as it twitched back and forth. Kyle got Sam's wheelchair for her.

"Take it easy. Don't rush it," Kyle said gently as Sophie set Sam down in her wheelchair.

"I know. Thank you both." Kyle smiled, as did Sophie as Sam went down the hall and to bed.

Kyle sighed happily.

_I'm so glad we could help her, Sophie._ Sophie purred her agreement as she wrapped her arms around him.

_So am I, Kyle. She's a nice person and a good friend. I like her a lot._ Kyle sighed softly as he closed his eyes. Sophie leaned her head against Kyle's as she purred deeply. Kyle shuddered as Sophie gently pulled him tighter against her and pulled the neck of his shirt aside as her lips gently kissed the base of his neck, just where it met the shoulder. Kyle shivered and gave a shuddering moan as Sophie caressed his sensitive flesh with her lips. Her tail wound around his waist as she very gently grazed the skin with her teeth.

Not to hurt. She would _never_ hurt her Kyle.

The touch was soft as a feather and twice as gentle. Sophie softly traced the line of his jaw with her fingers as she did her best to drive him out of his mind in the best of ways.

"Sophie . . ." he gasped softly, barely above a whisper. Sophie gently touched his cheek with her tongue as she pulled him off his feet.

_Kyle . . ._ She softly placed a gentle kiss on his jaw as she carried her mate towards their bedroom.

_I want you . . ._ Kyle shuddered again at the low moan Sophie gave as she entered their bedroom, shutting the door behind her with her tail.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Kyle awoke to the feeling of strong, but soft hands gently massaging the sensitive muscles in his back, two strong, clawed thumbs gently rubbing on either side of his spine. He smiled happily at the feeling as the warmth of his mate's mind flowed into his.

_Good morning, my beautiful Kyle._ Kyle chuckled as Sophie massaged his back.

"_Handsome". Men are handsome, Sophie . . ._ Kyle corrected. Sophie replied by wrapping her arms gently around his neck and purring as she nuzzled his face.

_Why? Why can't a man be beautiful?_ Sophie replied, clearly amused. Kyle didn't have a good retort. Sophie purred happily as she nuzzled the one she loved. _And you are beautiful, my Kyle._

Kyle chuckled as he felt Sophie very gently pull him against her as she rolled to the side. Kyle reveled in the feeling as the warmth of their bodies mingled as she held her Kyle against her. Sophie placed a gentle kiss on his cheek as her tail wound around his waist. Kyle gently kissed one of Sophie's hands as they snuggled, to which Sophie purred deeply. Kyle sighed as he reflected on the wonderful relationship they shared.

Every day, in every way, he knew he was blessed. Because of The Bond, their minds were so closely linked, they could feel each others feelings. Although they occasionally disagreed, they never argued or fought like some human couples did. Hurting one's feelings would be hurting both.

Sophie purred as she stroked Kyle's hair. The thought of hurting her beloved, in any way, was so abhorrent to Sophie, it made her sick. The same was true of Kyle. They loved each other deeper and more fully than two humans ever could. Kyle smiled as Sophie's tail gently brushed his cheek.

In spite of her appearance, Sophie's exoskeleton was actually covered by a layer of skin, and was rather flexible. Although her coloring was primarily an obsidian-black, Sophie had developed highlights that were a very dark blue. Especially in the skin that covered the top of her head.

As well, Sophie was very warm. Even on a cold day, when he was in Sophie's arms, he felt as warm as if he was wrapped up in a heating blanket. It wasn't just physical warmth, but mental, as well. When Sophie's mind embraced him, he could feel her all around him, enshrouding him in warmth, safety and love. Sophie purred as she brushed Kyle's lips with her own. Kyle gazed lovingly at his mate through lidded eyes.

_As much as I'd love to stay like this the rest of the day, we have to get up._ Sophie knew he was right, but she gave a disappointed whine, nonetheless. Kyle chuckled and kissed her again as they got up.

As they entered the living room, Kyle and Sophie were not too surprised to find Sam already up. Currently, she was looking at one of the paintings on the walls. Kyle smiled as Sam admired one of the watercolors.

"Good morning." he greeted. Sam was a little startled as she turned. She smiled as she turned her wheelchair to face them.

"Good morning. I was just taking a closer look at these paintings." Kyle smiled and Sophie purred.

"Ah, an art person." Kyle observed. Sam smiled.

"Kind of. These are lovely." Kyle's smile grew. Sophie purred gently as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

_Kyle, I'd like to show her the studio. _Kyle looked at her for a second before smiling. He looked at Sam.

"Sophie would like to show you upstairs." Sam smiled and nodded. Sophie wound her tail around Sam's waist and carefully lifted her out of her wheelchair, helping support her as she led her to the stairs, Kyle following. Sam smiled as she looked at the stairs.

"I think I can do this." Kyle watched, looking just a little worried.

"Remember to take it easy," he reminded. Sam nodded as Sophie began to go up the stairs, her tail still around Sam's waist as she carefully took each step. It was slow, but Sophie reassured Sam with a gentle trill. Sam was a little winded, but very proud when she finally made it to the top. Sophie took her down the hall and into a room. Sam stared at what she saw.

The room was lit by northern light. A small round table sat in the middle of the room. There were two chairs and several stools here and there. Sitting on stands and dressers were sculptures of various types, and paintings sat against walls. A chest of drawers was still open, tubes of paint and brushes easily visible. Sam blinked as she slowly walked into the room with Sophie's aid. Sam could smell the scent of oil paint in the air. Sam was speechless as she stared at the paintings, many of which she recognized.

The striking use of light and shadow and the imagery was unmistakable. Sam turned back, her eyes wide as she stared at Kyle.

"I . . . don't believe it. _You're_ . . . Trevor _Stone_?" Kyle smiled sheepishly and scratched behind his head.

"Um, "Trevor" is my middle name. I don't remember where I got "Stone" from . . ." Sam almost fell down. Sophie hissed softly as she kept her upright. She couldn't believe it.

Trevor Stone was one of the most famous of the New Age artists. His works had been show in galleries on _Earth_. He was best-known for his biomechanical paintings and his surrealistic touch.

Despite that fame, nobody knew anything about him, or even if it _was_ a him. Trevor Stone never made any public appearances or came to any showings of his work. Sam smiled as she shook her head.

"Oh my god. I can't believe this. I love your work! The way you control light and shadow is so smooth and subtle! The way you blend flesh and machine is so astounding!" Kyle felt his cheeks warm as he looked abashed.

"Um . . . thanks. Glad you like it." Sam was beaming.

"I just can't believe it. And your sculpture is just as amazing! I just love your work." Kyle chuckled and Sophie purred.

"I'm not the sculptor . . ." Sam raised an eyebrow. She looked at Sophie, who smiled and her jaw dropped.

"Holy . . ." Sam was dumbstruck. Kyle walked forward, his hands in his pockets.

"Sophie can't see colors like we can. But, she can feel very well, so sculpture is easy for her." Sam looked at a beautiful statue standing on chest of drawers and looked at Sophie, who smiled as she tilted her head. Sam looked at several paintings, sitting against a wall. She looked at Kyle.

"May I?" Kyle smiled and nodded. Sam walked over and picked one up. It was one of Kyle's biomechanical paintings. Looking closely, she could see similarities to how Sophie looked. Sam looked through the paintings until she came to one she knew very well.

It was a painting of a woman with long black hair against a background of skeletal trees at night. Her eyes were striking, because they were all black. The whole painting had an eerie feeling to it, but also was very beautiful. "_The Lady . . ._" Sam breathed, not believing what she was holding.

"You know that one?" Kyle asked, seeming interested. Sam stared at the painting in her hands.

"Yes. When I first saw it, I was so struck by it . . ." Kyle smiled warmly.

"Keep it." Sam's head whirled around, her long black hair swinging.

"No. No, I couldn't. This is famous! This is-"

"Our gift to you." Sam blinked as Sophie nodded her agreement. Sam stared at the famous painting in her hands. It was worth hundreds of thousands of credits off-world, let alone the worth there on Zerichs II. Sam felt tears well up as she looked at Kyle and Sophie.

"Oh, you guys . . ." Sam wrapped her arms around Kyle and Sophie both, who gladly returned the embrace. Sam smiled at Sophie's purr. When she pulled back, she stared at her new gift, awestruck at it. "I always wanted to ask, who is . . ." Sophie purred softly. Sam looked at her, then Kyle.

"I couldn't paint Sophie how she is, but I could do something inspired by her." Sam smiled and shook her head. Kyle smiled and patted Sam on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's go get some breakfast."

At the table, Sam seemed to glow with life as she downed her breakfast. Kyle smiled, happy to see her getting back on track. Already, Kyle noticed Sam's energy increasing and her overall health improving. Sophie purred as her tail gently draped over Kyle's shoulders, the tip resting over his heart.

_Kyle, I'm so happy to see Sam getting better._ Kyle smiled as he gently stroked Sophie's tail.

_So am I. I'm also glad to see you so happy to have a friend._ Indeed, Kyle was elated to see Sophie able to talk to and bond with another female. Since Sophie's kind were all female anyway, female-female bonding and friendships were the norm. Sophie purred as she finished her meal. Sam sighed as she finished her breakfast.

"Kyle, you should be a chef in a five-star restaurant. Your cooking is that good!" Kyle felt his cheeks flush a little as he scratched behind his head.

"I'm not that pretentious. I just cook good food that tastes good and is filling." Sam smiled at his words.

_That you do, my wonderful mate._ Sophie purred as she nuzzled him.

"Kyle, would you and Sophie mind taking me to my boat? I need to check inside and see how messed up things are." Kyle smiled as Sophie purred.

"Not at all."

After they had cleared the table, they traveled the short distance to the glade where they had placed Sam's boat, _The Bogart_. Sophie held Sam to her back as she climbed up and onto the deck of Sam's boat and entered the cabin. Sam sighed as she inspected the damage. Thankfully, Sam had invested in waterproof electronics and other gear. It just made sense on a boat. Most of the glass of the cabin was shattered, but that wasn't too bad. It was fixing the hull that made Sam nervous.

Sam directed Sophie down below deck, to her quarters. Sam had lived on her boat, so most of, if not all of her personal possessions were there. Sam's frown deepened as she inspected her quarters.

The bed was still pretty wet, but that could be dried out. Sophie let Sam off her back, but held her with her tail. Sam noticed a chest that was still closed and intact. She sighed with relief. Everything else she could replace. The contents of the chest, not so much. Sophie softly hissed as she stopped Sam from trying to lift it herself, picking up the chest and setting it on the bed. Sam smiled at her.

"Thank you, Sophie." Sophie gave a soft moan and nodded. Sam opened the chest and was elated to see that everything inside was safe and dry. She reached in and pulled out something metal.

Sophie tilted her head at the soft sound of small bells. Sam smiled as she pulled out what looked like a lace made from metal, covered with tiny bells, beads and other dangling metal pieces. Sam's smile spoke of sweet memories as she gazed at the beautiful belt. Sophie moaned softly as she came closer, gazing at the belt in Sam's hands. Sam smiled as she handed it to Sophie. She purred as she took it from Sam and held it up. Sophie smiled as she lightly shook the belt, the bells giving a lovely sound. Sam sighed happily as Sophie returned it to her.

Sam had been about to return it to the chest, but instead fastened it around her waist. Sophie watched, curious as Sam did this. She was amazed when Sam lightly shook her hips, and the bells jingled beautifully. They both smiled as Sophie pulled Sam onto her back and picked up the chest and returned to the deck. Sophie carefully handed the chest to Kyle, then climbed down. Kyle smiled at them. Sam looked even more happy than before.

"Since we're so close, how would you like to see our boat?" Sam blinked.

"You have a boat?" Kyle nodded. Sam smiled as they went into the spire and Kyle left the chest inside _The Talon_ as they followed the path downward towards their aqua-farm, before taking a sharp turn. They ended out in a cave in the cliffs where a small catamaran was waiting on the sand of the cave. Sam smiled at the little sailing boat. Although primarily wind-powered, it also had one of the small, bladeless, ionium engines that many boats had. Sophie helped him to push it into the water. Sam smiled as they got on and Kyle fired up the engine.

Sam smiled at the bubbling of the ionized water as they were propelled out into the waves. Kyle then hoisted the sails and the wind began to carry them out. Sam smiled as she felt the warmth of the sun on her face. Since it was the middle of spring, there still was a hint of coolness to the air, but was pleasantly warm. Kyle laughed as they sailed out onto the beautiful blue waves.

Zerichs II was an oceanic wonderland. From its founding, the Zerichs government had been very strict about environmental laws, lest they repeat the tragedy that ruined Earth. All engines had to either be ionium, that ionized the water into vapor that went back into the atmosphere, or the blades had to be covered with a cage. Violations of the law were punished with astronomical fines. It was because of laws like these, and the strict adherence to them, that had made Zerichs II both a paradise to people, and a nightmare for corporations like Weyland-Yutani.

Sophie looked at Kyle and smiled.

_Kyle, let's show Sam the shipwreck. I think she'd love to see it._ Kyle agreed. He looked back at Sam and smiled.

"How would you like to see something neat?" Kyle asked. Sam smiled and nodded as Sophie purred. Kyle directed the boat along the shore and Sam was able to admire Eramore Island.

The cliffs were a good hundred-and-fifty feet high at least, and the trees at the tops of the cliffs looked another hundred feet. From the sheer rock faces, Sam could see how the island had gained a reputation for isolation. For a boat, there was almost no place to land. At least, not safely.

"This is beautiful." Kyle smiled back at Sam.

"It is. Here we are!" Kyle smiled as he dropped the sails and they gradually slowed to a stop. He motioned for Sam to come forward. "Look down there." Kyle pointed below the surface. Sam did, and gasped at what she saw.

It was a galleon, made from wood. It was encrusted with coral, but it was still beautiful, nevertheless. Kyle chuckled as he watched Sam's reaction. "Sophie found it." Sam looked at Sophie, who purred. "She was looking for places prawns and clams and other fish might hide when she stumbled on it." Sam smiled at the beautiful find.

Given the exceptionally large amount of ocean on Zerichs II, the locals had a love of boats.

As such, it wasn't surprising that they had remade some of the most classical sailing ships, such as the galleon. They were still in use, mostly as pleasure vessels. Sam looked at Kyle, her eyes filled with wonder.

"This is amazing." Kyle nodded.

"Would you like to go down and see it closer?" Sam blinked. Kyle pulled out a re-breather and offered it. Sam smiled and pulled the unit on, putting the mouthpiece in as Sophie wrapped her tail around her. She removed her belt and handed it to Kyle as she and Sophie dove in. Kyle smiled as he watched from the edge of the boat.

Sam was amazed as she dove, Sophie pulling her along as they swam closer to the wreck. Sam could clearly see the nameplate on the bow. _The Mandolin_. Sam was awed as Sophie pulled her with her as they investigated the deck. Colorful fish swam by as they neared the broken remains of the mast. Sam guessed that the ship had been there for at least a hundred years. She wondered if Kyle and Sophie had claimed salvage rights on it.

Swimming over the other side, Sam could clearly see where the side of the ship had been smashed on the rocks of the cliff faces. As beautiful as they were, wooden ships still were more fragile than their steel and titanium counterparts. As they neared the bow, Sam could see the figurehead. It was a woman, holding a bouquet of flowers. She was awed at the whole experience. Sam motioned towards the surface and Sophie nodded, heading back towards the catamaran and the surface. Sam sighed as she broke the surface and pulled the mouthpiece out.

"That was amazing!" Kyle smiled as Sophie pulled Sam out of the water with her.

"Glad you liked it." Sam beamed as Kyle offered her belt to her.

A short time later, Sam and Sophie had dried off as they just drifted and admired the sea as the sun warmed them. Currently, Sam sat next to Kyle as Sophie lay stretched out on the front of the boat, both napping and sunning herself. In the sunlight, Sam was able to fully see the deep-blue highlights of Sophie's exoskeleton. Particularly the smooth carapace of her head. There was such an elegant grace and beauty to her. Sam had never seen anything like it. She looked at Kyle and noticed how he gazed at Sophie so lovingly. She smiled.

"It's so amazing." Kyle looked at her.

"What is?" Sam brushed a strand of raven-black hair from her face.

"You and Sophie. How you two communicate, how you work together. I don't think I've ever seen two people get along as well as you do." Kyle smiled warmly.

"Thanks, Sam." Sam took a breath of the fresh ocean air.

"There are so many questions I want to ask you about it . . ." Kyle looked at her.

"Go ahead. I don't mind." Sam nodded.

"When did it start?" Kyle sighed softly as he looked up at the fluffy white clouds in the sky.

"Pretty much as soon as she was inside me." Sam blinked and Kyle chuckled. "I didn't know that at the time, and it always was when I was asleep. I thought it was some wonderful dream." Sam smiled at his soft smile.

"What is it like?" Kyle sighed softly as he looked down at his beloved, sleeping peacefully.

"Warm. A feeling of warmth. Like you're wrapped in a warm, soft blanket." Kyle chuckled.

"I later learned that was what Sophie was feeling inside me." Sam blinked. Kyle smiled as he shook his head. "Words fail me in describing it." Kyle looked at Sam. "Most of all, there is a feeling that you're never alone. Sophie is always there for me. I always can feel her. She's part of me." Sam listened as Kyle did his best to describe what The Bond was like. "There are times I can't tell where I end and Sophie begins anymore." Sam was surprised. "There are times our minds are so closely linked, I can feel when I touch her as if _she_ had touched _me_." Kyle looked at Sophie and smiled.

"That's amazing." Kyle nodded.

"When I have been hurt, Sophie has felt my pain. The same was true when I was sick, once." Sam was stunned.

"Wow." Kyle nodded.

"She also was able to comfort me and ease the pain and discomfort."

"How?" Kyle sighed as he tried to find a way to phrase it.

"The best way I can think to say it, is her mind kind of . . . wraps around me." Sam raised an eyebrow. Kyle frowned in thought. "Like a warm blanket wrapping around you that takes away all pain, all fear and comforts you. It's almost like Sophie is all around me, not just in front of me." Kyle shook his head. "Sorry. I know that doesn't make much sense." Sam smiled.

"No. It makes perfect sense. It sounds wonderful." Kyle smiled.

"It is."

"No wonder she loves you like she does." Kyle smiled softly. Sam looked at her friend, napping at the front of the boat. "She really is amazing." Kyle smiled.

"That she is." With that, Kyle stood and walked over to Sophie's sleeping form. Sam watched as Kyle gently picked up Sophie's tail and delicately kissed it just below the large blade that tipped it.

Even from where she was sitting, Sam could hear Sophie's purr as she rolled to the side, reached up and wrapped her arms behind Kyle's neck as she drew him down into a soft, languid kiss. Sam smiled at the cute display.

They returned to the cave and docked the catamaran just as the shadows began to lengthen. It had been a fun day. Sophie carried Sam on her back as they made their way back up the tunnel to the cave where _The Talon_ was. "I need to check if anybody has tried to contact us, then we'll head home." Kyle mentioned as he headed inside the ship. Sophie followed, Sam still on her back. As they entered the cockpit, Sam looked around, taking note of the Autodoc and smiled. "Huh . . ." Sam looked over at Kyle as he checked the displays. "Peter gave us a ring. Wonder what's up."

Kyle pressed a few buttons before speaking into a microphone. "Peter, this is Kyle. You there?" There was a buzz of static. Kyle sighed, about to try again when the radio squealed, making him wince.

"_Where the goddamn hell have you been?"_ asked the voice through the radio, irritation clear in the tone. _"I've been trying to contact you for the past two days!"_ Kyle winced further at that.

"Uh, sorry, Peter. I've been a little busy. What's up?"

"_MacReady is back, and right now he's about ready to strangle me if I don't tell him where Sam is."_ Sam sighed softly and rolled her eyes.

"That sounds like Mac." Kyle sighed as he spoke into the microphone again.

"Peter, can you tell him to be calm and that she's safe?"

"_Tell him yourself. He's right here listening."_ Kyle blinked. Sam sighed and shook her head.

"Let me." Kyle got out of the chair, letting Sam sit. "Mac?" There was a sound like someone rustling cloth from the radio before a new voice came on.

"_Sam? Jeez! I got the ricochet as soon as I entered the system. What the hell happened? Where are you?"_ Sam looked at Kyle, who smiled and nodded. Sam sighed as she turned back to the radio.

"I'm on Eramore Island, Mac. And I'm in the best of hands." Sam winked at Kyle and Sophie.

"_Eramore?! How the hell did you end up there?"_

"A nice aqua-farmer heard my SOS and saved me. I'm in his ship right now."

"_Yeah, that Kyle guy. Well, that's a relief. We all were worried."_ Sam smiled at the radio.

"By the way, how is the Old Lamp? Still lighting as well as it usually does?" Sam asked. Kyle blinked at that. There was a brief pause.

"_Yeah, but a few bugs got in and got themselves burned good."_ Sam smiled at that.

"I'll bet. It's great to hear from you, Mac."

"_Same here, Sam. All right, I gotta get hopping on some things. Talk to ya soon."_

"Take care, Mac." Sam sighed softly as she shut off the radio before she turned to Kyle and Sophie. Kyle was smiling his usual, soft smile and Sophie was giving a soft purr. "Well, Mac's going to be visiting us in the next few days." Kyle looked surprised. Sophie did as well.

"Um, did I miss something somewhere?" Kyle asked, sounding lost. Sam softly laughed.

"Let me explain: Here, with the Nazis about and a situation we're not sure about, we kind of speak in "code", so to speak. Mac left it unsaid, so if anyone was listening, they would just think he was staying where he was." Kyle blinked, a look of comprehension on his face as he smiled and nodded.

_How clever . . ._ Sophie mused. Kyle agreed. The young blonde smiled at Sam.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm dying for some dinner. Let's get back." Sam smiled and nodded.

They spent the next few days helping Sam to recover her strength and balance, always keeping in mind that MacReady would be dropping by at any time. Kyle wasn't too worried, as Sophie would be able to pick up the scent of anyone who came.

So, Kyle wasn't too surprised when a knock came at the door a few days after the message.

Sophie disappeared down the hall while Kyle answered the door, but kept her mind closely linked with her mate's.

Kyle opened the door and was a little surprised at the figure the greeted him.

He wasn't too much taller than Kyle was, but was obviously older. His brown hair was wild and about shoulder length. A thick brown beard hid most of his lower face. His gray eyes reminded Kyle of slate in color. He was dressed in a leather jacket and cargo pants. The man's figure was very striking. Kyle had never actually thought on what MacReady looked like.

"Name's MacReady. I was around and wanted to check in on Sam." Kyle smiled at him, motioning for him to enter.

"Come on in. Tea's hot and I have some cake and crackers."

"Thanks." As MacReady entered, Kyle could feel Sophie carefully analyzing their new guest.

MacReady's pheromones didn't indicate any aggression, but he was wary. Even from down the hall, Sophie was fully aware of everything that was going on, ready to act in the blink of an eye if anything happened.

MacReady looked around as Kyle led him to the kitchen and dining room. Sam smiled from where she at at the table. Kyle noticed the subtle, but meaningful smile on Mac's face when he saw her.

"Glad to see you, Sam." Kyle couldn't help a smile of his own as Sam slowly stood from her chair, and MacReady looked stunned beyond words. She shakily walked the short distance towards him and hugged her stunned friend. Kyle's smile grew as Mac slowly embraced Sam back.

_How sweet . . ._ Kyle smiled as Sophie's warm feelings flowed between their link.

"Sam . . . gosh. How in the world-?" She smiled as she looked at Kyle.

"Kyle did it. He and his wonderful partner." Mac looked at Kyle, a look of pure amazement adorning his face.

"Jeez. You did a spinal for her?" Kyle smiled as he stuck his hands in his pockets. Sam shook her head lightly.

"No. Something better." Mac looked at her, surprised and confused, but happy. He looked at Kyle, the smile growing on his face.

"Thank you. I can't say just how glad I am to finally see Sam able to walk again." Kyle scratched behind his head, looking abashed.

"It wasn't just me. You have more thanks to give to my partner." Sam smiled wider as she looked at MacReady.

"Mac, she's amazing! She's the most wonderful person I've met. She was the one who saved me, and she's helping me to relearn to walk."

"Well, where is she? I want to meet this person . . ." Kyle gave a soft sigh.

_Ready?_ Kyle asked. He received a positive. Kyle looked down the hall as Sam smiled.

"Mac, her kind are new to this area." Mac looked at Sam, then back up to the hall as Sophie slowly entered.

Mac's eyes widened a little as he took in Sophie's appearance. Sam smiled as Sophie approached.

Sam held her hand out, which Sophie softly took, purring gently as she knelt down to be at their eye level. "Mac, this is Sophie." Mac took a deep breath and offered his hand.

"Nice to meet you. Thanks for helping Sam out." Sophie carefully took his hand and gently shook it, the edges of her lips curling up into a soft smile. Kyle smiled from where he was standing, watching.

_Well, it looks like we've made a new friend . . ._

The four of them sat at the table for the next few hours, Sam telling Mac everything that had happened and all that Kyle and Sophie had said. MacReady just sat and listened, smoking his pipe. Mac was impressed with the whole thing.

"Boy, that's one heck of a story. And I've heard a lot of them over the years . . ." Mac said as he downed some tea. Mac cleared his throat as he set his cup down. He looked at Kyle. Sophie had wrapped her tail around his waist as she softly purred. Mac smiled. "I owe you two. You ever need anything, you give me a shout, you hear?" Kyle smiled and shook his head.

"Don't mention it. I'm just glad we could help Sam." Mac chuckled softly at that. He looked at Sam.

"I'm glad, Sam." Sam returned the smile and placed her hand over Mac's. Kyle smiled and Sophie purred. Mac sighed as he put out his pipe and put it away inside his jacket. He kept his smile as he looked at Kyle and Sophie. "Well, I gotta get back. Thanks for helping Sam, and thanks for the peace of mind." Mac stood and coughed lightly. "I meant what I said," he said, putting his hands on his hips. "If you two ever need a favor, you ask me." Kyle smiled and nodded. Sam followed MacReady to the door in her wheelchair, talking with him. Sophie and Kyle stayed at the table.

Mac looked around at the paintings on the walls, recognizing them instantly. "Boy, he must be pretty well-off if he can afford these. This is Trevor Stone's work . . ." Sam giggled at that. Mac looked at her. "What's so funny?" Sam almost laughed.

"Mac, he _is_ Trevor Stone." Mac stopped and stared. He glanced back at Kyle and Sophie at the table, who seemed to be having one of their unspoken conversations. Mac shook his head.

"Boy, Sam. When you luck out, you do it in a big way . . ." Sam smiled as Mac left.

At the table, Kyle watched as Sam and MacReady talked before he left.

_So, what was your impression of him?_ Kyle asked. Sophie moaned softly.

_He's a nice man, and we can trust him, but . . ._ Kyle raised an eyebrow at the feeling of uncertainty from Sophie.

_Sophie? What's the matter?_ Sophie gave a soft sound that was almost a snort.

_He's sick._ Kyle was surprised.

_What? Like the flu? You smelled that when I was sick._ Sophie gave a negative.

_No, this was different. I don't know ._ _. ._ Kyle frowned, but hid it as Sam returned.

"I'm so glad. It felt good to see and talk with Mac again." Kyle smiled and Sophie purred.

"We're glad." They spent the remainder of the day talking, Sam sharing some stories of Mac and his exploits. When night fell, they all were able to go to bed comfortable and calm.

Kyle smiled as he changed into his t-shirt and shorts as they readied for bed. Sophie purred happily as she used her tail to pull her mate into the warm bed with her. Kyle sighed as Sophie wrapped her arms around him as she pulled him against her.

Sophie's favorite way to sleep was behind Kyle, his back to her front, the "Spoon" position as some called it. It was warm, comfortable and protective. Sophie purred deeply as she stroked his hair, pulling the warm blankets close around them as she wrapped her tail around him.

_I love you, my wonderful mate._ Sophie said fondly as sleep touched the edges of her mind.

Kyle smiled as he kissed her hand lovingly.

_And I love you, my beautiful darling._ Sophie kissed him on the cheek as they went to sleep.

**Author's note:** A present to my wonderful readers for their support and belief in me.

As they say on Zerichs II: "Happy _Nadolis!_"


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

The days passed peacefully and happily for Kyle, Sophie and Sam. Every day, Sophie would help Sam with walking, which became easier with each passing day. Sam would also help Kyle and Sophie with their aqua-farm and gave them a few recipes to try with their wonderful bounty.

One day, Sophie heard the soft sound of bells from their living room as she entered. Kyle was out in the greenhouse, sowing some new seeds and watering. Curious, she looked in and saw Sam, standing and trying to keep standing as she moved her hips, the belt at her hips giving a wonderful music as the tiny bells jingled.

Sophie came closer and watched. When Sam almost stumbled, her tail shot out, catching her before she could hit the floor. Sam was a little startled. She looked up as Sophie twitched the end of her tail at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sophie. I didn't hear you." Sophie gave a soft moan as she helped Sam to stand.

Sophie grabbed her touch-pad and began to type:

**WHAT ARE YOU DOING, SAM?** Sam looked a little flustered and even embarrassed.

"Before I was paralyzed, I used to dance. I never had the heart to get rid of this belt, even if I couldn't use it . . ." Sam lovingly stroked the belt. "My Grandma gave me this. It was made a long time ago on Earth, in India, before it was destroyed by the ocean." Sophie gave a soft moan as she looked at the pretty belt.

**I HAVE DANCED WITH KYLE. IT WAS NICE. YOU DANCE VERY WELL.** Sam looked surprised, and smiled at her friend.

"Thanks, Sophie." Sophie nodded her head.

**HOLD MY TAIL.** Sam looked surprised. Sophie smiled at her. **I WILL HELP YOU TO STAND WHILE YOU DANCE.** Sam blinked. She smiled as she took hold of Sophie's tail and closed her eyes, letting her mind flow with her body, unmindful of falling.

Sophie watched as her friend danced in such a beautiful, flowing way. Sophie purred as she followed the movement of Sam's hips, listening to the music and rhythm of the bells. Although foreign and unusual, there was something beautiful about the dance that Sophie liked. When Sam stopped, she was a little winded, but all smiles. She looked at Sophie, who smiled back. **VERY BEAUTIFUL. CAN YOU TEACH ME? **Sam was surprised, but smiled and nodded.

Kyle sighed as he came into the house. With the spring weather beginning to turn into summer, the weather was perfect for planting his tomatoes. As he neared the living room, he heard the soft sound of bells jingling. Kyle blinked. He could feel great amusement from Sophie's mind, and wondered what was up. As he looked into the living room, he stopped and stared, awed at what he was seeing.

Sam was standing, without help from Sophie, who stood next to her. Sam was shaking her hips in a rhythm, the bells jingling and making a beautiful music, but that was not what had his rapt attention.

Sophie was performing the same motions, her hips swaying and moving with grace no human could match. Her tail flowed in a undulating manner that was jaw-dropping. She followed the movements Sam did exactly, but with an even greater grace. Kyle had heard about belly dancing, but had never actually seen it himself. Sophie's movements flowed with sinuous grace and beauty.

Kyle was unaware that his mouth hung open as he watched his mate.

Sophie may not have had breasts like a human female, but she certainly had _curves_.

Sophie's hips and backside were not lacking in feminine curves, and flowed perfectly with the swiveling movements of her hips.

Sophie was fully aware of her mate's presence, and the effect the dance was having on him, and she smiled, purring softly as she swirled her tail sensually. She lightly caressed his mind with hers, the thoughts warm and inviting. She could smell his scent change as his face flushed. Had she possessed eyes, she would have winked at him.

It made Sophie happy to know her form was pleasing to her mate. She let her delighted feelings flow across their link as she danced. Sophie flicked her tail, almost cracking it like a whip, an audible "swish" was heard as Sophie looked over her shoulder at him, her lips turning upwards as she smiled at him.

_Wait until tonight, my love . . ._ When Sam stopped and looked, she saw Kyle and his reddened face as he looked at Sophie. Sam couldn't help a giggle.

"Zerichs to Kyle." Sam teased lightly. Kyle shook his head, his eyes looking glazed and Sam couldn't hold back a laugh.

Sam shared her experience and some of her background with Kyle and Sophie over lunch.

Sam's ancestry was from Kashmir and Delhi. Belly dancing had been a tradition in her family for many hundreds of years. Kyle was surprised, but happy to learn that it was a celebration of femininity and childbirth. Sophie purred at the idea. Kyle was surprised and delighted when Sam told them about some of her ancestors, who had been a troupe of traveling female dancers who traveled on a boat after the oceans rose and destroyed many parts of India. Sophie gave a sad moan as she smelled Sam's scent change as she mentioned boats. She looked sad.

_Kyle, tell her about tomorrow._

Kyle smiled as he set his tea down.

"By the way, we have to go into Zeraven tomorrow. I have to drop by Morgan's Gallery, and I thought we could hook your boat up and drop it off at a dry-dock and have it looked at." Sam blinked as she stared at Kyle.

"_Morgan's Gallery?_" Morgan's was a very exclusive and eminent gallery of fine artwork that was only open to the public a few days out of the month. Sam had always wanted to go, but had never been able to. Kyle smiled as he sipped his tea.

"Yes. I have some things I have to do, and I thought you might like to tag along. We'd be going in the back, but-" Sam was almost out of her chair with excitement.

"No! I'd love to go!" Kyle's smile grew and Sophie purred.

"Okay, then. Tomorrow, after breakfast, we'll hook up your boat and go in." Sam almost seemed to twitch with excitement. Kyle and Sophie both shared a smile as Sam helped them to clear the table. With an exciting day ahead, they all went to bed.

The next morning, Kyle awoke to the wonderful, beautiful scent of his mate and smiled. There was no other smell like it in the whole universe. If he were blind, he would be able to recognize her by her wonderful, unique smell. The closest he could come to describing it was a musk, but the most pleasant, calming one imaginable. Sophie's scent always put Kyle at ease. The young blonde moaned softly as two soft lips gently caressed the sensitive flesh of his neck.

_Good morning, Kyle._ Kyle smiled as he turned in his mate's grip, delighting in the warmth of her as he returned the kiss. Sophie purred as they drank in the warmth as they held each other, physically and mentally.

_Good morning, love of my life._ They enjoyed the warmth and closeness for a while longer before they got up.

Kyle wasn't too surprised that Sam was already up, but he was surprised to find breakfast already waiting for them. Kyle blinked as he and Sophie approached the table, already set. Sam poked her head out of the kitchen and smiled broadly at them.

"Morning, you two! Breakfast will be ready in a minute." Kyle blinked as Sophie purred.

_How nice . . ._ Kyle couldn't help a chuckle as he took his seat.

The fare Sam served was wonderful. She had learned from Kyle and Sophie, and incorporated her own tastes into the dishes, which were delightful. The breakfast was wonderful, but they all were eager to get a start on the day.

No sooner were the dishes in the sink, than they headed for the spire where the_ Talon_ was docked. Sam strapped into a chair as Kyle started up the engines and the craft lifted off and slowly hovered over the ground, slowly making its way over Sam's boat. Kyle sighed as he looked up and flipped a few switches.

"Okay, engaging magna-lines. Hold on, this'll shake us a bit . . ." Kyle warned as the lines extended down from the bottom of the ship and latched onto Sam's boat with a heavy, metallic clunk.

The_ Talon_ rocked slightly as the lines attached. Kyle flipped another switch and the winches began to whir as they pulled Sam's boat up off the ground and close to the hull of the_ Talon_. Kyle looked at the screens and checked readings. A green image of the ship, and Sam's boat was clearly visible on the screen. Kyle smiled. "Okay, we're locked. Let's get going."

Kyle gently pulled on the controls and the ship turned slowly to the west as he engaged the engines. Sam watched as the trees began to speed underneath them, before vanishing, being replaced by the blue of the ocean. Sam looked up and stared at the ocean and sighed happily. The sun was shining and the sea was glittering.

Kyle smiled and Sophie purred from her seat next to Kyle. As he piloted, Kyle glanced at Sam out of the corner of his eyes and smiled before turning his attention back to the flightpath ahead. "So, do you have an apartment you'd like us drop you off at, or would you mind staying with us a while longer?" Sam looked at Kyle and smiled.

"No. I lived on my ship. If you two don't mind-?"

"Not at all. Like Sophie said, you're welcome in our home." Sophie purred as she nodded. Sam smiled as their kindness.

"On that note, there are some people I would like to check in on, if you don't mind the detour." Kyle smiled and Sophie gave an inquisitive trill.

"Not at all. Just tell me where to go." Sam smiled.

"And I'd love to introduce them to you both." Kyle winced at that.

"Uh, that might be a bit of a problem . . ." Kyle looked at Sophie, who gave a low moan.

Sam blinked. Kyle glanced at Sam. "You and MacReady are the only people who know about Sophie, and, if you don't mind, we'd like to keep it that way." Sam furrowed her brows.

"I won't tell anyone, but why? They're very tolerant here. I doubt anyone would bat an eyelash after a day or two." Kyle sighed softly.

"It's not the locals I'm worried about, Sam. It's people off-world hearing about it." Sam frowned. "You have to remember that Weyland-Yutani is still looking to use Sophie's kind as weapons. If they ever found out Sophie was here, I have little doubt they would find a way to come in and try and take her away." Sophie hissed softly and wound her tail around Kyle. "And, of course there's the Nazis . . ." Sam shivered and Sophie growled. Sam nodded.

"I understand." Kyle headed off the uncomfortable silence that was forming.

"So, who do you need to check in on?" Sam smiled.

"I have several friends who I bet are worried, even if Mac told them." Kyle nodded.

"No problem. Where would you like to go, first?" Sam smiled softly.

"Well, how would you like to visit a pub just for locals and have some genuine Fish & Chips?" Sam asked shyly. Kyle smiled and Sophie purred.

"That sounds great." Sam beamed.

"Oh, you'll love it. You have to meet Barnabas." Kyle raised an eyebrow.

"Barnabas?" Sophie tilted her head. Sam told Kyle and Sophie about the Bar-Master of the _Old Lantern_ pub, and how he kept an ear out for info and even interceded quietly on some occasions when unscrupulous local merchants tried to cheat new emigrants. That got Kyle and Sophie's attention.

"Wait a minute. He didn't tell the Merchant's Guild about a land-deal two years ago, did he?" Kyle asked. Sam stared at him with incredulous eyes.

"How did you-?" Sam stared as Kyle smiled. She blinked as Sophie purred, and not at all quietly, more a self-satisfied rumble.

"That was you two?!" Sam was floored.

Two years ago, Barnabas had heard about a sleazy local merchant who was laughing up his sleeve about selling an uninhabited plot of land to a new emigrant. There were rumors that this land was inhabited by dangerous introduced animals. A quick call to the Port Authorities showed that it was no rumor, and someone had been hurt.

As a result, the Merchant's Guild revoked the merchant's trading license and he was Blacklisted, which was far worse than being jailed or physically punished. Sam had also heard that the buyer's money had been returned. She looked at Kyle and smiled.

"God, I'm glad you two are okay." Kyle nodded and Sophie hissed softly. Sam was stunned by this revelation. "What happened?" Sophie hissed at this and tightened her hold on Kyle.

"Let's not talk about that right now. Let's have a good day." Sam nodded.

Kyle smiled when an island came into view. Not just any island, but the largest island and landmass on all of Zerichs II.

Zemura Island was the largest island, home to the capital city of Zeraven and the main hub of activity on Zerichs II.

It was about the size of California in the Former United States, Earth. Most of the island was grassland, but there were some deeply wooded parts that had been left undeveloped and untouched.

The so-called "Jewel of Zerichs" was an amazing island, known and loved by many.

As they flew closer, Sam smiled at the sight of Zeraven. The city was not big by any standards.

Since the world population of Zerichs II was only about 25 million, large cities were not needed, or wanted.

The highest building in Zeraven was only ten stories, as opposed to the nine-hundred-story skyscrapers of Thedus or Earth. The city was also one of the cleanest in colonized space, if not _the_ cleanest.

The inhabitants of Zerichs II had always cherished the world they lived on, and prided themselves on taking good care of it. There were no open sewers or dumping garbage into the sea, no pollution or smog. Sam smiled as she looked at the southwestern part of the city, where buildings were not only built on the top of a cliff, but into the side as well. At night, the cliffs would come alive with lights.

Kyle set the autopilot as they entered the airspace surrounding the city, and the ship piloted itself towards the northern end of the harbor. Sam watched as the ship came in over the dry-dock spaces and slowly began to lower the_ Bogart_ to the ground below. Sam felt the ship rock ever so slightly as the boat was set on the ground and the magnetic towlines disengaged and retracted. Kyle smiled at Sam as he reset the autopilot for the docking port. "Well, that's taken care of. Let's land." Sam nodded.

They slowly came in and landed evenly at the dock. Kyle sighed as he turned off the engines and did a quick check before unbuckling and grabbing his jacket. As Sam got into her wheelchair, she looked at Sophie, who gave a low moan.

"I wish you could come with us, Sophie." Kyle smiled as Sam hugged her friend. Sophie purred gently as she returned the embrace. Sophie then turned to Kyle, gently wrapping her arms and tail around him as she purred deeply. He softly kissed her on the lips.

"See you in a bit, darling." Sophie stroked his face and smiled before releasing him. Kyle sighed as he and Sam left the ship, while Sophie slipped away to hide in the cargo bay.

Outside, a gentle breeze blew as Sam and Kyle exited the ship. Kyle smiled as he looked at her.

"Well, where to first?" Sam blinked.

"Uh, why don't you take care of the gallery first?" Kyle smiled and led the way.

The city was alive with the sounds of conversation and laughter as people went about their daily business. In some ways, it almost felt strange for Sam to be back. She was so absorbed as she looked around, she almost ran into Kyle when he stopped.

"Here we are." Sam looked up at Morgan's Gallery. She had seen about art shows there, but had never been able to go. Either from a lack of time, or money. Kyle smiled as he motioned for her to follow. Kyle led her through a small alleyway around back and up to a door with a keypad next to it.

Kyle entered a code and the light next to the door turned from red to green. Kyle held the door open for her. Sam was surprised at the inside. Kyle smiled and watched as she looked at the displays and pieces of artwork hanging on walls and displayed behind glass.

"Ah, Master Kyle. We've been expecting you," said an accented voice. Sam looked up at the well-dressed man.

He wore a silver double-breasted suit with a black vest underneath. His hair was white and he wore a very carefully trimmed and waxed mustache. Sam blinked as Kyle smiled.

"Hello, Terrance. Nice to see you again." Terrance smiled and nodded.

"Likewise." The older man looked at Sam, a kindly smile adorning his face. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madam." Sam smiled shyly, unable to help a blush. Kyle smiled.

"This is Sam. She's a great fan of Trevor's works." Terrance smiled further at this.

"Ah, how marvelous. Those with appreciation for the arts are always welcome here." Sam smiled. "If you will follow me, Master Kyle, we shall put things in order." Kyle nodded and motioned for Sam to follow. They followed Terrance through the hallways to an area dominated by a large desk that was currently empty. "I shall return momentarily . . ." Kyle put his hands in his pockets as Terrance disappeared to another room.

"_Wow . . ."_ Kyle looked over at Sam, who was staring at one of the statues on the shelves on either side of the hallway. As he came closer, he smiled, recognizing the work instantly. Sam stared, awed at the beautiful work of art before her. _"The Flight of the Phoenix . . .,"_ Sam breathed.

The statue was of a young Paleyan Phoenix, dazzling in its beauty, its wings spread as it was about to fly. The colors glistening and sparkling in the iridescent way of a rainbow. It was absolutely lifelike in it's attention to detail. It looked as if it was about to take wing and fly away. Sam was awestruck as she stared at the beautiful statue.

She stared in childlike wonder and awe as she looked at the statue from different angles, tilting her head and watching with rapt amazement as the colors changed right before her eyes, like prisms in flight. Kyle smiled warmly as she looked at it. "Now I know why Barnabas fell in love with it . . ." Kyle raised an eyebrow and he felt Sophie's mind brush his, her mind awash with amusement.

Kyle's smile grew as Sophie gave him an idea. Kyle looked up just as Terrance returned.

"The arrangements are all made." Kyle smiled.

"Good. I also need a carrying case. Trevor has requested that _Flight of the Phoenix_ be returned to his home." Terrance looked a little surprised, but not nearly as much as Sam, who stared at Kyle, her jaw hanging open.

"I shall return momentarily." As soon as Terrance was gone, Sam shook her head.

"Kyle, what are you doing?" Kyle just smiled at her as Terrance returned with a carrying case with a handle and helped Kyle to gently place the amazing statue into the padded case and Kyle locked it. Sam watched, awed as Kyle bid farewell to Terrance and they left. As soon as they were in the alleyway, Kyle turned to her.

"So, what was it you were saying about fish'n'chips?" he asked shyly, hunger stirring in his belly. Sam blinked, startled for a moment.

"Oh, right. Follow me." Kyle smiled. As they started down the sidewalk, Sam stopped and looked back at Kyle and the large case he held against his chest. "Um, shouldn't we take that back to the ship first?" Kyle smiled and shook his head.

"No. The place I need to deliver it to is on the way." Sam blinked before shaking her head.

Sam led Kyle down the streets until they came to an alleyway between two taller buildings near the harbor. There were no lights in the alley.

"Come on. It's down here." Kyle followed Sam down the dark alley until he saw a faint glow.

It was coming from an old oil lamp up next to a wooden sign. Kyle eyes widened as he read:

_**Old Lantern.**_ Kyle noticed that it looked like the sign had been repaired at some point, and the first letter of the sign had been destroyed. He looked at the lantern that lit the sign and smiled as he and Sam entered the "Gold Lantern", as it had once been called.

As they entered, people looked up. The whole pub fell into complete silence. Kyle tensed.

He could vaguely feel Sophie's mind reach out to him, but they were just about at furthest distance which they could communicate. Suddenly, a cheered howl of welcome went up.

"_Sam!"_ All at once the whole pub crowded around her, all talking at once and asking questions.

Kyle smiled from where he was standing. He looked to his right and saw a tall man with slicked-back brown hair polishing the bar with a rag. He looked at Kyle and gave a very light, lopsided smile. Kyle returned the smile. The tall man looked at the crowd and cleared his throat.

"All right, all right! Give the lady some room, will you?!" he hollered. At that they backed up, still smiling. Kyle kept his smile. Sam turned to Kyle and motioned for him to come in. The tall man motioned towards a table in a corner. Sam smiled and led Kyle to the table as people talked animatedly about Sam's return.

"Welcome to the _Old Lantern_." Kyle smiled as he placed the carrying case under the table.

"It's nice." Kyle looked around. The pub was warm and the lighting was dim, but it was far from uncomfortable. A large bay window dominated one wall, looking out at boats passing in the harbor. The tall man, Barnabas, arrived to take their order.

"My usual, and Fish & Chips with a Sea-Cider for my wonderful friend." Sam winked at Kyle. Barnabas gave a subtle smile and nodded before leaving to fill the order.

Kyle and Sam's order arrived in record time. Kyle was amazed at the wonderful fare.

The Sea-Cider, hot cider with honey, was one of the best drinks he had ever tasted. Kyle sighed contentedly as he finished the last of the cider.

"That was wonderful." Sam smiled.

"It's the least I could do after what you and Sophie have done for me." Kyle smiled. Sam sighed as she looked around at the people in the pub. Kyle noticed that there were only a few people left. Sam smiled as she looked over at the bar. Kyle looked, and Barnabas was motioning for them to follow him. Sam moved away from the table, and Kyle picked up the carrying case and followed.

Barnabas led them past the bar to the back. They went through a door, into the storehouse for the wines and ales and through another hallway before entering another room. Kyle was amazed at the fabulous, stately room they were standing in.

A wing-back chair sat elegantly, a small side-table next to it, an ashtray and a pipe sitting, ready to be used. Shelves of books lined almost every wall. The room was bathed in soft light from stained-glass lamps. In between the bookshelves, there were carved pedestals, backlit. Some of them had statues and other _objects 'd art_ on them, but one was conspicuously empty. Kyle looked at a desk and smiled when he saw a gramophone.

Barnabas closed the carved door behind him and turned to look at Sam.

"Mac told me what happened, but I'm still glad to see you, Luv." Sam smiled at him. Barnabas looked at Kyle and gave a very subtle, lopsided smile. "And he told me about you, too, Kyle. I'm grateful to you for what you did for Sam." Kyle returned the smile. Listening to Barnabas' accent, made Kyle think of upper New London. Sam's face turned serious as she looked at Barnabas.

"So, what happened after I left?" Barnabas sighed as he related to Sam, and Kyle, how they had killed two of the Nazis, but had kept one alive and interrogated him. They had only obtained partial information, but that little made Barnabas' jaw tighten.

"From what we got, there is no doubt there are other Gerries crawling about, but damn it to pus-spewing, blood-gutted hell, a _local_ is helping them!" Sam's eyes grew wide, as did Kyle's. Barnabas huffed as he crossed his arms. "They were meeting with this bounder somewhere between here and the spaceport." An uncomfortable tension settled in the room as Barnabas gave a soft sigh, looking like he had a headache.

He turned and picked up a decorative decanter, a glass and poured himself a drink.

Kyle recognized the smell of cognac. Sam looked at the bookcases, and her eyes settled on the empty niche. She smiled encouragingly as she looked back at Barnabas.

"On a lighter note, I'm playing delivery girl today." Barnabas looked up and Kyle smiled knowingly. "That empty niche has bothered me for years. So, I got you something special to fill it."

Barnabas blinked, then smiled his soft, subtle smile as he swirled his drink.

"Ah, but it has to be something special. Can't put just anything there, you know, Luv." Sam chuckled at that as she motioned for Kyle to bring the box over.

"Oh, I think you'll like this . . ." With that, Kyle put the case on the desk and unlatched it.

Barnabas watched as Kyle reached in and almost dropped his drink at the sight that appeared.

A glittering rainbow of iridescent colors shimmered in the soft light of the study as Kyle removed the treasure within. Barnabas felt like all the breath left his body as he marveled at the beautiful statue that now sat on his desk.

"I . . . don't believe it . . ." Sam grinned broadly as Barnabas drew closer, unable to believe his eyes. Sam gently reached out and placed her index finger under Barnabas' open jaw and gently closed it. Kyle stifled a chuckle at the Bar-Master's reddened cheeks.

"This is a gift from Trevor Stone for all you've done over the years." Barnabas looked at her, his violet eyes wide. Kyle gently lifted the statue and showed him the bottom, where there was writing:

_To Tavernmaster Barnabas, from Trevor._

Barnabas was speechless. There was no mistaking the elegant handwriting. Sam smiled as she took the statue and carried it over and set it into the niche. As she backed up, the very room seemed to glow with the sparkling, dazzling colors as the light reflected off highlights. Kyle smiled and put his hands into his pockets. Barnabas stared, awestruck at the beautiful statue. He looked at Sam.

"Please thank Mr. Stone for me." Kyle could hear the gratitude in the bit of a tremble in his rich deep voice. Sam smiled with impish delight at Barnabas' joy at such a gift.

"And I have another surprise for you." Barnabas raised his eyebrows. Sam placed her hands on his desk, and, to his great surprise and shock, stood out of her wheelchair. Barnabas blinked as he almost fell into his chair. "Another gift from Trevor . . ." Kyle felt warm inside as he saw a true, genuine smile grace the man's features. Barnabas poured himself a little more cognac and gave a soft laugh.

"Now, are there any more surprises you two have for me?" Sam smiled and shook her head.

"Not yet, Barney." Kyle couldn't help a giggle at Barnabas' red face at the nickname. To his credit, the Bar-Master recovered quickly.

"Well, all right, then . . . Sammy." Kyle fought hard not to laugh at the look on Sam's face.

"_Touche . . ._" Kyle smiled as he stepped forward.

"Thank you very much, Master Barnabas, for the delightful Fish & Chips. We thank you for your hospitality." Barnabas blinked, but smiled his usual, subtle smile and nodded. He set his drink aside and led them back to the pub.

"Now, you two be careful. We still don't know where those other Gerries scurried off to, or who is helping the buggers." Sam nodded, as did Kyle. With a final wave, they left the _Old Lantern_.

As they reached the end of the alleyway, Sam stretched in her wheelchair before looking up at Kyle.

"Well, that was nice, but we should be getting back." Kyle smiled softly at her.

"Not quite yet." Sam blinked as his smile grew. "You introduced me to one of your friends, would you mind meeting one of mine?" Sam smiled.

"Not at all." Kyle led the way as the sounds of birds and waves mixed with the sounds of people talking.

Kyle led Sam down the streets towards where the shops were. The bakeries in particular.

Sam took a deep breath and could smell the sweet scent of baking bread and other delights. Kyle looked back at Sam.

"Here we are." Sam looked up at the sign above the large front window:

_**Sugar Shack Confectionery.**_

Sam blinked as Kyle led her towards the door. As he opened it, a bell rang out from above.

Sam looked around as Kyle walked in. She was startled by a squeal. She looked up in time to see a ginger-colored blur shoot across the shop and wrap around Kyle.

"_Kyle!"_ said a delighted, female voice. Sam blinked as she came closer and Kyle laughed.

Kyle was almost completely enveloped in soft, long, ginger-colored fur. As the mass of fur moved, Sam's eyes grew wide, and a broad smile appeared on her face.

"Hello, Shiloh. Nice to see you again," Kyle laughed. The reply was a pleased coo as the furry being snuggled him.

Two pointed, furry ears twitched from their spots atop the head as a long, furry tail happily wrapped around Kyle, almost making him disappear amongst the fur.

Sam smiled at the fox-like Milurian who was embracing Kyle sweetly.

The Milurians were renowned as the most gentle species in space. They had been best described as "Living Teddy Bears", which was fairly accurate in terms of their temperament.

They were especially fond of humans. Some people thought they were a little _too_ friendly, but most disagreed. Greetings like this were common among Milurians.

Kyle chuckled as he pulled back enough to look his friend in the face.

"Where have you been?! We haven't seen you in so long!" Sam could hear the accent in Shiloh's voice. The Milurian accent was very distinctive, impossible to miss. Kyle smiled as he looked at her.

"Sorry, Shiloh. I've been busy." Shiloh hugged Kyle again, rubbing her face against his neck.

"We've missed you, Sweetie!" Sam was most amused at the display. Kyle looked at Sam and smiled through Shiloh's fur.

"Shiloh, I'd like you to meet Sam." Sam blinked as Shiloh turned her attention to her.

Blue-green eyes met amber ones and another squeal erupted from Shiloh as she embraced Sam.

"Oh! She's so adorable!" Sam blinked as she was enveloped in the softest, warmest fur she had ever felt. Shiloh rubbed her cheek against Sam's as she cooed. Sam briefly felt Shiloh's wet nose on her face as she was cuddled.

As Kyle watched, he saw there were tears in Sam's eyes, and he knew what was on her mind.

The Milurians were so gentle and loving, war was a foreign concept to them. As such, when the Nazi Fourth Reich invaded their home, they had no defense. The First Holocaust on Earth had resulted in the deaths of 11 million people, but the death toll of the Milurian Holocaust was three _billion_. Their whole race was nearly wiped from existence.

People sobbed in the streets by the millions when the news came.

Because of the tragedy, Zerichs II had welcomed the survivors with open arms, and was extremely protective of them. It was also because of this that Nazis were hated with an almost religious fervor on Zerichs II.

It was then she heard another voice ring out, a male.

"_What's going on, Hon?"_ Sam recognized the lilt of a Welsh accent.

"Kyle's back!" Shiloh called back. Sam was barely able to see a figure appear.

"Kyle! Well, bless my soul! We haven't seen you in months!" Sam heard an amused chuckle from the male. "Come now, Honey. Give them some air." Shiloh giggled as she released Sam and stood back. Sam couldn't help a smile as Shiloh stood next to a tall man with brown hair who was wearing an apron. Kyle chuckled as he motioned towards the two.

"Sam, this is Shiloh and Leon. They make the best treats you could ever hope to find, anywhere!" Shiloh gave a pleased squeal at Kyle's words.

"Thank you, Kyle. We've missed you." Sam smiled as she moved forward and shook Leon's hand.

"I'm Sam. It's nice to meet you." Leon smiled widely at Sam.

"Likewise." Sam smiled as Shiloh curled her tail around Leon. Sam was able to take a good look at the bubbly, furry female standing in front of her.

Shiloh was not as tall as Kyle, reaching about to his chin. Her ginger-colored fur was thick and beautiful. The tips of her ears, as well as her hands, feet and the tip of her tail were white. Her black nose twitched at the end of her long muzzle. Shiloh's blue-green eyes looked at Kyle and sparkled with warmth and affection.

"We have some amaretto cake all made up and waiting for you and your Love." Shiloh smiled as Kyle chuckled.

"Thanks, Shiloh." With that, Shiloh disappeared into the back. Leon smiled at Sam and Kyle.

"It's nice to see you again, Kyle. We were worried. Especially when we heard about the . . ." Leon stole a glance over his shoulder. "Unwelcome arrivals." Kyle sighed and nodded.

"Yeah." Without missing a beat, Leon smiled and grabbed a glass jar filled with cookies.

"Here, have some samples." Sam smiled as she took one and tried it. They were molasses cookies, and they were delicious. Kyle smiled as he ate his.

"Thanks, Leo. You guys are the best." Leon smiled. Shiloh returned with perhaps the longest cake Sam had ever seen.

The long cake looked like it was four feet long, and as thick as Sam's leg. Shiloh smiled broadly as she set it down on the counter, and Sam could smell the wonderful scent of amaretto liqueur.

"Maybe I should start making them smaller, then you'll come in more often." Kyle smiled.

"I promise I'll visit more often." Shiloh was wrapped around Kyle in a heartbeat.

"Please do! We're always happy to see you!" Sam smiled at Shiloh's warm and loving nature.

Kyle also added several packages of cookies to his order, which Shiloh happily filled. When everything was packed and ready to go, Kyle dug into his pocket and brought out a gold doubloon.

The monetary system of Zerichs II was based on hard coin, gold and silver, precious metals and gems, instead of non-substantial credits or paper money. As long as the payment was gold or silver, it didn't matter what form it was, although Zerichs did mint its own coins.

Leon passed the small detector over the doubloon and it beeped, confirming it was solid gold.

"Well, enjoy. Hope you have a great day. And drop by again." Kyle smiled at Leon.

"I will." They heard the bell of the door ring and Shiloh squealed with joy. Sam and Kyle turned and smiled as they saw Shiloh giving warm hugs to at least seven human children.

Milurians were most fond of children, and loved them with every fiber of their being.

Milurians particularly loved human children, and were the most loving, devoted parents imaginable.

There had been more than a few times where Milurians, male and female alike, had adopted whole orphanages of human children.

The human children giggled and laughed as Shiloh held them so lovingly.

"Oh, hello, little darlings!" she cooed. Sam felt like her heart was melting at the cute scene.

Kyle carefully gathered up the order and smiled.

"Take care." Leon nodded as he smiled at his wife, who seemed to be in heaven as she cuddled the children. With that, Kyle and Sam left the shop, the smiles on their faces glowing with happiness.

"Kyle, she's amazing!" said Sam as they headed back towards the dock.

"Yes, Shiloh is a wonderful lady." Sam nodded. Kyle smiled warmly.

Kyle had once reflected that, if he had never met Sophie, he easily could have seen himself married to a Milurian like Shiloh. Sam chuckled and Kyle looked at her.

"First time meeting a Milurian?" Sam smiled wider at him.

"I'd seen them and heard them, but I never actually met one . . ." Kyle's smile grew as he could feel the warmth in Sam's voice. "She's so sweet and so affectionate." Kyle smiled wider. When he next looked at Sam, he saw she looked a little downcast. "I hope that she stays safe . . ." Kyle smiled.

"Don't you worry. Shiloh has the best protection from Nazis one could ask for." Sam looked up at Kyle, her eyes questioning. "I'll tell you when we get back to the ship. Oh, by the way, Sophie wants me to pick up some bread and rolls on the way." Sam blinked, then smiled.

On their way back, they passed the most famous landmark on all of Zerichs II.

Kyle stopped and looked up at the tall lighthouse that stood in the main square of Zeraven. The lighthouse was unspectacular in terms of design, but it was the words inscribed at the base and the symbolism that were special. Sam noticed where Kyle's gaze was, and smiled herself.

They approached The Beacon together and stopped in front of it.

All around the base, inscribed in several different languages, were words that carried great meaning to all of the people; words that may as well have been written for Zerichs II, a haven for those with nowhere else to go:

_**Give me your tired, your poor,**_

_**Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,**_

_**The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.**_

_**Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,**_

_**I lift my lamp beside the golden door!**_

The great land those immortal words had come from may have been destroyed by the greed of corporations, but the ideals that those words embodied were eternal.

Even now, in the Twenty-Eighth Century, those words still carried with them the immortal idea that could never be killed.

The people had recited those words when they welcomed the Milurians to the sanctuary of their world two hundred years ago, and they lived by them today.

Kyle took a deep breath and felt pride in living on such a world. He could feel Sophie's pride at the words, too. When he looked at Sam, she smiled at the inscription before looking up at him.

By the time Kyle and Sam returned to the_ Talon_, it was already afternoon, and the shadows were growing long. Sophie was waiting to greet them, eagerly embracing her mate and her friend.

_I missed you._ Kyle smiled as he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

_So did I._ Sam couldn't help smiling as she watched the warm display of affection.

As they took off, Sam looked at Kyle as he headed back towards their home.

"So, you said Shiloh was safe. Care to explain?" Kyle smiled and Sophie purred.

"Leon was the Captain of the _Flying Dragoons_." Sam's jaw hung open at that.

The famous Flying Dragoons were the best, most efficient and ruthless Nazi-Hunters ever to live. Whenever the Reich heard that the dreaded Dragoons were in the area, they cleared out in a hurry.

Sam smiled, relieved. She would hate to imagine anything happening to someone as sweet as Shiloh.

When they returned home, the sun was just gracing the horizon. Sam was surprised when she returned to the living room, and found Kyle and Sophie had set their table on lower legs, and instead of chairs, there were piles of comfy pillows to sit on as they sat down for a delightful dinner.

Sam was most surprised that it was Sophie who had prepared their feast. The main fare was a fine bouillabaisse filled with the bounty of their aqua-farm, with sweet buttered rolls.

Sophie sat in the middle, with Kyle on her right, and Sam to her left. The atmosphere was warm and pleasant as the three enjoyed a wonderful dinner together.

Sam was surprised at the presence of Bereba melon, and tensed. The Bereba melon, actually a berry from the giant Bereba tree, was so rich in calories and proteins that very few creatures could eat it raw without getting terribly sick. However, due to her biological makeup, Sophie was not only able to eat the large berry safely, she loved them, and gathered them whenever she found them floating in the ocean.

As Sam tasted the delicious bouillabaisse, she could taste the wonderful, salty taste of Zerichs Potatoes, one of her favorite vegetables. Unlike Earth potatoes, the Zerichs Potato grew like a waterlily, with the tuber growing beneath the water. Since they only grew in salt water, they were naturally salted, and widely used in Zerichs cooking.

"Mmm! Sophie, your cooking is wonderful!" Sam declared as she took another spoonful of the bouillabaisse. Sophie purred happily at her friend's praise. Kyle smiled as he hugged his mate.

"Sophie picked up cooking pretty quickly." Sophie purred louder as she placed a kiss on Kyle's cheek. Sam smiled as they enjoyed the wonderful meal together.

Once dinner was done, Sam helped to clear the table. After that, they all sat and talked, Sam telling them various stories from around Zeraven that she had heard at the _Old Lantern._ Sam told the warmest and funniest stories she could remember, and the evening closed pleasantly and warmly.

Finally, it was time to call it a day, and they retired to their bedrooms for the night.

Kyle smiled as he leaned against Sophie as they entered their room. Sophie purred as she cradled her sleepy mate against her. Kyle drowsily snuggled closer to Sophie, reveling in the warmth and smell of her. He was barely awake as she pulled him into their warm bed, the soft, warm blankets folding all around them both as she softly stroked his hair.

_Go to sleep, my darling . . ._ Sophie whispered softly as she kissed him delicately on the forehead. Kyle smiled as he felt the gentle warmth of Sophie's mind caress his, softly easing him off to sleep.

"I love you, Sophie . . ." Kyle whispered sleepily. Sophie purred as she settled down, Kyle held against her as she curled her tail around them both.

_And I love you, Kyle . . . my Bonded One . . ._

**Author's note:** It's hard for me to believe it's been a year since I first published here. Time sure flies. As always, reviews, ideas and suggestions are more than welcome. And, as before, if you have ideas for a cover, please feel free to give them. FYI, I work solely in traditional media (IE watercolors).

Thanks for reading and have a nice day.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

The birds were singing and the sun was shining when Sam came to breakfast the next morning.

Kyle was already finishing his delightful cooking, Sophie helping. Sam was amused as Sophie would hand Kyle jars of spices or other ingredients, almost automatically, and Kyle would grab them without even looking. She was still amazed at how well they worked together.

"Have a seat! Breakfast will be ready in a little bit." Sam smiled as she took her seat. The smell coming from the kitchen was wonderful. Sam's mouth was watering by the time Kyle arrived with a wonderful stew. The breakfast was tasty and warm, and the company was delightful.

"Kyle, Sophie, I just can't thank you two enough." Kyle smiled as he finished his portion.

"Don't mention it, Sam." Sophie purred her agreement. Sam chuckled softly.

"I mean it. You two have done so much for me." When Sam felt a few tears threaten to run, she felt something gently touch her shoulder. She looked up, and Sophie's tail was softly touching her shoulder in a comforting manner as Sophie purred. Sam smiled as she laid her hand on the obsidian-black appendage in gratitude. Sam gave a soft, relieved sigh. "Kyle, would you mind if I use the radio on your ship to contact the dry-dock and ask for an estimate on my ship?" Kyle looked slightly surprised, but smiled.

"Not at all." Sam nodded and sat down in her wheelchair and headed out as Kyle and Sophie looked at each other and grinned knowingly.

XXX

About fifteen minutes later, Sam returned. She looked around and saw Sophie and Kyle, standing side-by-side at the sink, doing dishes, Sophie's tail slowly swishing from side to side like a metronome.

"Do you know what they told me?" Sam asked. Kyle looked at her, green eyes wide and innocent-looking.

"No, what?" he replied, trying to sound innocent. Sam blinked as she came closer and huffed.

"They said they're doing a complete overhaul and refit of my boat! And that it's all paid for!"

Kyle dropped his jaw and Sophie gave a soft hiss, her tail sticking straight out in surprise.

"No way, imagine that . . ." Sam shook her head.

"I'm going to end out owing you for the rest of my life!" Kyle rolled his eyes in thought, a soapy hand touching his chin.

"Yep, pretty much," he replied. Sam laughed, as did Sophie. Kyle had a wide, goofy grin on his face as Sam wrapped her arms around him. Sophie purred as she hugged them both.

"Thank you both, so much!" Sam pulled back and smiled at her friends. "I can't begin to tell you two how much all of this means to me. I want to help you guys so badly. After what you've done, it's the least I could do." Kyle blinked. He looked up as Sophie moaned softly. They looked at each other for a brief moment before Kyle looked back at Sam.

"Well, actually, I think there is." Sam smiled. "Since you have a medical background, do you think you could give us your input on something?" Sam smiled wider.

"Absolutely." Kyle smiled and left for a few minutes. Sophie finished washing the dishes and directed Sam over next to the couch as Kyle returned with a PDA.

"This, Sam, belonged to Catherine, the android assistant of Dr. Reinhardt . . ." Sam stared as Kyle handed it to her. "There's a lot of important, if disturbing information in there. I think we can trust you with it." Sam smiled as she looked down at the black PDA. Kyle directed Sam through the files, in particular, the ones regarding the medical records of his time in Reinhardt's lab.

Sam couldn't help being both awed, and disturbed when she actually watched the footage of Kyle, unconscious on a table as the egg opened like a flower, and the spider-like Seeker inside slowly crawled out and across his sleeping body to settle over his face and wrap its tail around his neck.

Sophie smelled the unease in Sam's pheromones, and gently touched her hand in comfort.

Sam was amazed as a doctor, and as a scientist as she watched the scans, showing the Seeker actually implanting Sophie within Kyle, attaching her to his lungs. Sam couldn't help being more than a little angry when she watched the surgery to remove Sophie from Kyle's chest.

They were far from gentle as they cracked his chest open. They may as well have used pruning shears, they were that rough. Sam couldn't help smiling when Catherine severed the small umbilical connection, and was promptly bitten by Sophie, who screeched and wriggled in her grip in an attempt to free herself and return to her host.

"You should have bit her more . . ." Sam mused as she watched the rest of the video. Kyle smiled as Sophie purred, wrapped around him as they sat on the couch. Sam sighed as they tossed Sophie into a small metal cage, like she was trash. Sam frowned, forcing herself to watch as they finished and closed Kyle's chest. When the video was done, she shut it off. Sam shook her head before looking up at her friends.

Sophie was sitting next to Kyle, but her legs were draped over his, her tail wrapped around his waist and chest as she held him close, stroking his hair and purring softly. It made Sam incredibly angry that they had treated Sophie like that, especially when she was just a baby! The way they treated Kyle was just as deplorable. She watched as Kyle held Sophie's hand. "I'm so glad you two were able to get out of there before they hurt you worse." Kyle nodded and Sophie moaned softly.

"My one regret is I wasn't able to be there for Sophie when she was small . . ." Sophie purred softly as she cuddled her mate. Sam could imagine Sophie as a baby, curled in Kyle's arms, or nestled in his shirt, warm and protected.

_You _were_ with me, my love . . ._

The more Sam learned about the whole mess, the more uneasy she became. It downright frightened her to learn that Catherine was no ordinary android, but one of the most dangerous of all combat-androids: Nexus Nine. These ruthless, efficient killers had been the main attack-force of the Fourth Reich, and were not only banned, but outright hated. Sam looked at Sophie, wrapped around Kyle in a protective and loving embrace and smiled. It was a testament to how strong and powerful Sophie was to be able to fight a Nexus Nine, and win.

Sam smiled further. If people on Zerichs II heard about that, they would welcome Sophie with open arms everywhere. Enemies of the Nazis always were welcome on Zerichs II. Sam blinked as she processed everything she had learned.

"This is just amazing, all of it." Kyle smiled softly as Sam looked through some of the medical files and scans. She looked up at Kyle and frowned slightly. "Where did they first learn about Sophie's kind, anyway?" Sam asked. Kyle directed her to several files:

_The Nostromo Incident, The Acheron Disaster,_ and _The Auriga Fiasco._ Sam grew more and more disgusted as she read the files that Weyland-Yutani had provided Reinhardt with. It made Sam sick how many innocent people had been hurt because of the greed of W-Y. It also was disturbing how long ago it had first happened.

According to the files, they had first detected the signal from the crashed alien ship almost exactly six hundred years ago. It was long reading, stretching out over several hours. Sam also learned a lot from Kyle, who had been able to look at the files and dissect things in ways a normal person couldn't.

Namely the first incident.

Kyle explained that Sophie's kind really were not meant to be alone, and that the pain and trauma from the death of their host when they were born was alleviated by the Hive. Since the poor one on the _Nostromo_ was alone, there was no one to comfort her. With the death of her host, surrounded by humans that wanted to kill her, she went into a sort of psychotic rage. It made Kyle sad, and he lamented that, if only they had found out and been able to remove the baby within the crew member, things might have been different.

Sam also raised questions about the ship on which they first found Sophie's kind. From what was known, the captain of the _Nostromo_ had said they had found what appeared to be the pilot, fossilized inside the ship, and other indications that it had been there for a considerable amount of time. The other files concluded that the derelict craft had been destroyed when the volcanoes of Acheron became active following the detonation of the atmosphere processor.

Sam shook her head as she wondered on this strange, derelict alien craft. Where had it come from? Why was it there? Who were the people piloting it? Why were Sophie's kind on board? Not even Sophie had any answers to these questions.

As Sam thought on all this, something seemed to click in her head. She blinked as she looked at Kyle and Sophie. "Kyle, I just realized something," Kyle raised an eyebrow. Sam smiled. "About The Bond you have with Sophie. It seems to me, at some point in their evolution, they wouldn't have killed their hosts, but instead Bonded to them, like Sophie has to you." Kyle blinked and Sophie gave a soft moan. Kyle nodded.

"That does make sense. But the fact that humans wouldn't be the normal hosts might also have something to do with it." Sam nodded, looking excited.

"Then, it stands to reason that whatever their original hosts are, they would be able to survive the birth and Bond with them!" Sophie purred softly. Kyle smiled as his mate gently caressed his face.

"Yes, there is something very vague in Sophie's Hive Memories about that, but it's hard to make out." Sam looked extremely pleased with herself, as if she had solved part of a puzzle.

Kyle could feel something tickling at the back of Sophie's mind. Like something she could almost remember, but was just out of reach. He gave her warm thoughts and feelings as he gently wrapped his arm around her slim waist, to which she purred happily. As he looked at Sam, she seemed distracted. Sophie moaned softly as she could smell a hint of fear in Sam's pheromones as she looked at the window. "Sam, what's the matter?" She looked at him, and even Kyle could see a hint of fear in her eyes.

"I was just remembering what Barnabas said about dangerous animals being here. And hearing about the land-deal when you came and all that-" Kyle held up his hands, stopping her.

"Relax, Sam. They're all gone." Sam blinked at that. Sophie purred softly as her tail picked up a blanket draped over the back of couch and gently draped it over Sam's shoulders. Sam smiled with gratitude as she pulled the blanket tighter around her. "And there's the proof." Sam took a closer look at the buttery-soft blanket, and found it wasn't a blanket at all, but a fur. She stared at the brindle fur for a few seconds before she recognized it, her head snapping up.

"There were _Serrex_ here?!" Sam was floored.

The Serrek Raptor, so called because of its resemblance to the Earth Velociraptor, was one of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy, and a ongoing problem as an introduced pest on Zerichs II.

They were monsters in the truest sense of the word. They were voracious eaters and pack hunters, and were not above eating their own kind. There was a sizable bounty on Serrex, but they were very dangerous to hunt, even for professionals. Sam ran her fingers across the soft, warm fur.

The nasty little beasts had been introduced by an imbecile who had planned to raise them for their fur, which was soft and warm. As was almost always the case, the Serrex escaped and got into the local ecosystem. It was ironic that the man who brought them was their first victim. For nearly one-hundred-and-fifty years the Serrex had been causing problems and destroying ecosystems on the islands they swam to or floated to on Coralyte. They still were having trouble wiping the beasts out.

Sam swallowed as she processed everything. Kyle smiled and Sophie purred.

"And that's not the only fur we have." Sam blinked in surprise as she stared at them.

"Jeez, how many were there?" Kyle frowned very slightly as Sophie hissed softly.

"Lots. At least three hundred." Sam gulped.

"My god. It's a miracle you aren't dead!" Kyle sighed as he pulled up the right leg of his pants.

"I came pretty close . . ." Sam stared at the long, white scars on his leg from the claws of a Serrek. Sophie moaned as she cuddled him, curling her tail around his waist as she nuzzled him.

Sam smiled as she watched Sophie.

"Sophie got rid of them?" Sophie hissed as she cuddled her mate, the tip of her tail twitching.

"She hunted down every last one. Even wiped out their burrows." Sam seemed to wilt with relief. "I'm sorry you were scared. It's my fault. I forgot to fill you in." Sam smiled as she pulled the Serrek fur tighter around her and shook her head.

"That's all right. I'm just glad you two are safe." Sophie held out her hand, which Sam took.

Sophie's tail softly coiled around Kyle's waist and chest, flowing out and around Sam's arm. The room was awash with the happy warmth of friendship. "On that note . . ." Sam said as she brought up the PDA "Do you mind if I study the surgery more?" Kyle smiled and shook his head.

"Take as long as you need. We trust you." Sam beamed as Sophie purred.

Sam studied the footage from Catherine's memories long into the small hours of the night, fascinated by how Sophie had been implanted and the intricate connections to Kyle's lungs and heart.

Kyle and Sophie had long since gone to bed, but, as sometimes happened, Kyle's sleep was far from restful. Images of snapping teeth, a whooping whistle and the sounds of feet rustling through bushes and brush filled his mind. Sophie was startled out of her sleep by the frightened whimper of her mate. Sophie brushed the images away as easily as one brushes dust off one's sleeve.

_It's all right, my darling. You're safe._ Sophie gently kissed Kyle on his cheek as he settled back down, his mind at peace. Sophie thrummed as she stroked his hair.

Sophie would not soon forget how close she came to losing her Bonded. She pulled him tighter against her as the images faded away. Sophie could still recall the sounds of those beasts snarling and growling, the scent of aggression and hunger from them. She still could smell them, and it was a smell Sophie loathed. The scent of aggression and hostility. Even as the dream faded, the scent remained.

Sophie gave a soft growl. The more she focused on it, the stronger the scent became. The scent slowly changed.

Suddenly, Sophie's head snapped up as she looked up at the window of their bedroom, open just a crack to let in the pleasant summer breeze. Sophie recognized the scent of humans, but these weren't from any she knew. She already smelled males, and there was definitely aggression in their scent.

Sophie gently shook Kyle. _Kyle, wake up!_ Kyle groaned as he sat up quickly, his mind still sleepy.

_Someone's coming!_ Kyle snapped to wakefulness almost instantly.

As Kyle quickly dressed, Sophie embraced Kyle's mind, letting him feel and smell what she could. Already he knew whoever they were, they were armed, as the smell of gun oil was very unique. They had always feared that this day would come, but prepared for it. _You get Sam, I'll take care of our "guests" . . ._ Sophie urged with a low growl. Kyle gave her a quick hug before rushing down the hall as quickly, but as quietly as possible. Sam was startled when Kyle threw her door open.

"Sam, somebody's coming." She blinked as she looked up from the PDA.

"What do you mean? Who's coming?" Kyle frowned as he came over to her bed.

"I think the Nazis." Sam felt like someone had dumped ice all over her as she shivered. Kyle grabbed Sam's jacket and threw it on the bed. "Get dressed and follow me!" he said in a low tone.

Sam quickly pulled on her pants and boots. "Take the PDA. Can't let them find that." Sam put the PDA in her pocket as Kyle grabbed her hand and took her with him down the hall to what looked like a dead end. Kyle carefully opened a door that was completely hidden in the wall. Sam smiled as he pulled her in and closed it quietly as the sound of boots on the floor came closer.

XXX

The four armed men opened the door as quietly as they could. They all were dressed in gray and black camouflage with black helmets. They carefully swept the living room with their weapons, watching for any movement. One motioned for the others to spread out. They separated and began to search through the house for the occupants.

"_Nehring here. I found something . . ."_ said one of them through the radio in German.

"What is it?" asked the leader. There was a slight hiss of static.

"_Don't know, but it's weird, whatever it is."_ The other three followed and found their companion on the first floor, looking into a bedroom, but one unlike anything they had ever seen before.

The walls and ceiling were covered in a strange, black substance shaped like bones, tubing and all manner of strange and macabre things. A four-post bed dominated one side of the room, also made of the same substance. Off white silk curtains created a canopy around the bed.

"_Mein gott . . . _What is _this_?" asked one of them as the group slowly walked into the bedroom, their guns sweeping around. There was nobody around. They could see another door, open, next to the bed. As they walked in, they never saw the long, segmented black tail reach down from the ceiling and silently close the door behind them . . .

XXX

Sam was almost breathless as Kyle led her through the narrow passage, a thin beam of light coming from the small flashlight he held out in front.

"What about Sophie?" Sam asked as loudly as she dared.

"Don't worry. She's taking care of things. She'll meet us when we come out." Kyle replied.

"Come out where? Where are we?" She almost could feel Kyle smile.

"Whoever owned this place before us obviously wanted to keep some things secret. This passage leads out into the forest. I'm guessing pirates or smugglers from the storerooms along the way." They came to a door set into the stone passageway and Kyle opened it and took a pair of bags made of canvas and leather, as well as a lever-action rifle. He turned to Sam and smiled. Armed and ready, they headed forward, Kyle guiding them with the light from his flashlight.

Sam was surprised when Kyle switched the light off as they came to some steps. "Can't afford to let the Nazis see any light. Thank goodness it's cloudy tonight . . ." He took Sam's hand and led her upwards.

"I just hope Sophie's okay . . ." Kyle tightened his grip reassuringly.

"She's fine." Through their link, Kyle could feel her satisfaction as she left their house and headed for the forest.

_Sophie, how many?_ Kyle asked as he and Sam neared the forest entrance.

_There were four in the house, but there's a larger group in the forest. I can sense them from here._ Kyle sighed as Sophie relayed the mental map. Kyle could see how close the main group of Nazis was, and he was far from pleased. _Wait a few minutes and I'll draw them off._ Kyle frowned deeply at this.

_Sophie, just be careful. Anything can happen at any time._ Sophie acknowledged and moved to intercept the Nazis. Kyle and Sam finally came to a wooden door. Kyle carefully opened it and peered out.

The forest was dark, and a thick layer of fog covered the ground. He couldn't see his own feet.

Out about a hundred feet, he could see flashlights moving around. Kyle scowled as Sam looked over his shoulder. The lights seemed to be moving closer. Kyle pulled Sam back in as he closed the door to only a tiny crack. The lights came within fifty feet, actually shining on the large tree that concealed the entrance of the tunnel. Kyle reached out to Sophie, who wasn't too far away. Kyle hardly dared to breathe as he watched the lights come closer.

Sophie had been about to move, when the Nazis made a sharp turn and went in a different direction. Kyle gave a slightly relieved sigh. He turned back to Sam as he carefully opened the door and stepped out into the night.

"Come on. Stay low and keep quiet." Sam nodded as Kyle closed the door and readied the rifle, just in case. With a quick glance around, they ducked down into the brush and headed for the spire where the _Talon_ was.

"What about Sophie?" Sam asked as quietly as she could. Kyle didn't look back as he led her through the dark, misty forest.

"She's hunting . . ."

XXX

The group of Nazis was nervous as they trudged through the forest. There was no contact with their teammates that had gone to investigate the house. That was not good. They knew very well how much the locals hated and loathed them. If they were caught, the best they could expect was a public execution. Obviously, someone, or some_thing_ had been alert to their presence. It was time to abort the mission and return to the U-Boat. As they walked along the narrow "paths" that wound through the forest, the fog seemed to get even thicker. They couldn't even see their feet.

The lights on their weapons illuminated the darkness, but only a short ways. They were nervous. Supposedly, even the locals were wary about this island and the forests on it. Even if it was a bunch of superstitious nonsense, the eerie darkness of the forest and the way the fog seemed to weave around like living tentacles made them uneasy. As they walked through the fog, they heard a sound from somewhere in the forest. It seemed to echo from everywhere. They stopped and looked around with the lights on their guns. It was distant and diffused, but they still recognized it.

It was a hiss.

"What the hell was that?" asked one as he looked up at the trees with his light.

"I don't know," another answered. They played their lights around, trying to find the source of the noise. Nothing moved. The forest remained silent.

"No wonder the locals fear this place. It's creepy," one of them mused aloud.

"Quiet back there!" their leader hissed. They all grew silent. "Let's get back to the U-Boat." With that, they headed off again. As they did, one of them stumbled. His teammates looked back as he saved himself from falling.

"Damn tree roots . . ." he huffed as he stood back up and followed the rest. A short time later, another one of them tripped. This one actually fell. His comrades looked back as he staggered back to his feet and grumbled as he wiped leaves and twigs out of his clothes. A short while later, someone else tripped, and another after that.

After the fourth episode, nobody paid any mind when somebody tripped, as it seemed to happen with almost every step. With such thick fog, it wasn't that big a surprise. In the dark, almost every tree looked the same. Without the aid of GPS, they had no idea where they were, and they had to get back to the U-Boat before dawn, which was fast-approaching.

XXX

Kyle and Sam hid carefully in the brush as they slowly and carefully made their way towards the spire where Kyle and Sophie's ship was. As they neared the clearing around the spire, Kyle stopped them. There were lights in the cave of the spire. Kyle growled softly. This was not good. He checked his rifle and clicked the safety off. He looked at Sam. She nodded. Kyle closed his eyes and took a breath as he brought the butt of the rifle against his shoulder and carefully took aim down the sights at the light moving around.

Even though the light was dim, he could see the figure and aimed carefully at the head and neck area. Kyle hoped for the best as he squeezed the trigger. The rifle discharged with a crack, the blue blast of electric energy signature of mag-rail guns.

Although shaped like the ancient Winchester rifle, Kyle's rifle fired slugs with magnetic force, instead of gunpowder and metal cartridges.

Kyle watched the figure fall down as his comrade was alerted. Kyle quickly pulled the lever down to load another round as the other Nazi scrambled for cover. Kyle could see a shape in the dark, and he aimed, just as a burst of fire came from the cave. Kyle moved to the side, away from Sam as he fired again. Another burst of five rounds told Kyle his enemy was armed with an automatic weapon.

Kyle noticed the Nazi had switched off the light on his weapon. Kyle used the last place he had seen the flash to guess where his target was as he fired again.

The exchange continued like that sporadically for almost a minute as Kyle and Sam carefully made their way towards the spire. Every now and then, Kyle reloaded so he didn't run out, keeping his ammo topped up. His heart was racing as they finally managed to make it to the edge of the cave. Kyle tried to keep his breathing quiet as he turned to Sam.

"You hide here. I'll get you when it's clear." Kyle whispered into her ear as he slowly made his way into the cave in a crouched walk. Sam frowned deeply as she watched him go.

XXX

After what seemed like an eternity, they had finally found the way back to the shoreline where they had landed. The leader sighed softly as he could see some of the predawn sky through the trees.

He motioned for someone to come forward. He waited before making the motion with his hand again. He frowned as he turned back and looked.

There was nobody behind him.

He quickly brought his weapon up, shining the light all around as his breathing became uneven. His eyes darted around wildly as he carefully backed up. He whirled and pointed his weapon back down the path towards the shore. He glanced back, then dashed as fast as he could. As he ran along the path, he was certain he was being followed, and not by anything human. He leaped over raised roots and ducked under low branches as he sped through the dark forest. He could hardly believe it. Twenty men and he was the only one left. He doubled his efforts as he dashed towards the edge of the forest.

Sophie leaped through the trees silently, but swiftly as she followed the Nazi. It had been an easy task to start simply with tripping the Nazis with her tail under the mist to make them drop their guard. So, when she began taking them out, they paid it no mind because they thought their comrades had merely tripped. As Sophie followed, she picked up the scent of another male, quickly getting closer. She focused on the scent, and quickly recognized it.

It was MacReady. Sophie was surprised. Her surprise turned to fear when she realized where he was. MacReady was moving along the edge of the forest, along the eastern cliffs. Sophie quickly changed direction to intercept MacReady.

The eastern cliffs were very unstable. If MacReady stepped wrong in the mist, he would fall nearly two-hundred feet to the sharp, jagged rocks and Coralyte below.

XXX

Mac was breathing hard as he ran, rifle at the ready. The mist was heavy and he barely could see his feet as he ran along the cliff. He had seen the shadow of one of the Nazis running through the forest and followed. He was fighting to keep from panicking. He had found four dead Nazis at Kyle and Sophie's house, but no sign of anyone else. There was no blood or signs of a fight or struggle.

All manner of scenarios ran through his mind as he ran. MacReady had every intention of shooting this Kraut's legs out from under him and beating answers out of him.

Mac could vaguely see his quarry ahead of him at the cliffs as he exited the forest. Mac raised his rifle, but was startled as his foot slipped on loose rocks. He fought to maintain his balance, or at least fall into the forest, but to no avail.

He could feel his weight going towards the sea as he flailed his arms. Just as he fell, something grabbed him around the waist, saving him from certain death. Mac blinked as he looked down at the segmented black tail wrapped around his waist. He looked up at the eyeless face that greeted him.

"Sophie?" She nodded as she pulled him up. Suddenly, the crack of a rifle made them both duck. Sophie pulled him tight against a tree with her as she hissed. Sophie pulled him with her as she moved on all fours, low to the ground towards the shore. Sophie carefully peered over the cliff and out at the sea. A black shape moved in the water, away from the island. She looked down, and the Nazi she had been following was laying on a rock, dead.

He had been shot by his own comrades, likely by accident. Sophie gave a soft snort and snapped her fingers as her tail unwound from MacReady and lightly slapped the ground in frustration. Mac groaned as he looked out at the water and the conning tower of the U-Boat slowly moving away. The first light of dawn was beginning to show on the horizon.

"Damn." He looked at Sophie. "Please tell me Kyle and Sam aren't on that thing." Sophie shook her head and Mac sighed with immense relief. Sophie pointed back into the forest and Mac nodded. "Lead the way." Sophie turned and ran off, but slow enough for Mac to follow. As he did, he tapped the earpiece of his radio. "Everyone, there's a U-Boat escaping off the eastern coast of Eramore! Somebody get on it!" he growled as he ran as fast as he could, trying to keep up with Sophie.

XXX

Kyle carefully and quietly made his way into the cave, rifle leveled and ready to fire. He tried to keep his breathing as even and quiet as possible. He was as tense as the string of a bow. He hadn't heard any movement in a while, and that made him nervous. His eyes darted around, taking in as much as they could. All of his senses were working overtime. This was a very dangerous game of Cat and Mouse, and one misstep would be fatal. Kyle kept as low to the ground as he could, almost crouched as he slowly entered and made his way around the _Talon_.

Kyle made sure he made as little noise as possible. Not just to keep his own position a secret, but in hopes he would hear where the Nazi was as he moved. With the coming of dawn, the darkness was quickly fading. Kyle's little cover of the darkness was quickly vanishing, as was his advantage. He had to end this as quickly as possible, but not rush into a trap. Kyle swallowed as he carefully rounded a corner.

The Nazi lunged faster than he anticipated and Kyle fired. The shot missed as the Nazi struck with his rifle, to which Kyle responded. The weapons clashed as Kyle angrily smashed the butt of his rifle into the Nazi's face. The Nazi tried to get back enough to raise his rifle, but Kyle stuck to him like glue, keeping their rifles pressed together, almost squeezed between their bodies as Kyle kicked his enemy. The two men grunted as they wrestled and shoved each other, trying to gain the upper hand.

Kyle managed to bring his leg up and brought the heel of his boot down and knocked the Nazi's rifle, and his own, out of his hands. Kyle quickly followed it up with a shove against the man's stomach.

Kyle grabbed up his rifle just as the Nazi brought up a pistol and aimed it at Kyle's head. Just as the Nazi was about to fire, something hit him in the back of the neck and Kyle ducked as the gun fired.

"Take that, you bastard!" Sam yelled as she clubbed the Nazi again with the large rock she had hit him with. Kyle kicked the pistol away as he panted. "Are you okay?" Sam asked as she dropped the rock. Kyle smiled as the dim light from outside the cave showed him the worry on Sam's face.

"Yeah. Thanks, Sam." She smiled before kicking the Nazi.

That was when Sophie arrived, growling as she ran along the ceiling of the cave.

_Kyle, are you hurt?!_ He smiled as he looked up at his mate as she climbed down a stalactite and dropped to the floor.

_Not at all._ Sophie looked at the dead Nazi and hissed before wrapping her tail around Sam as she drew her and Kyle into a relieved embrace. Kyle looked up as MacReady arrived, looking winded.

The tall man swept the area with his rifle as he approached. He looked around before looking at Kyle, Sophie and Sam.

"You two all right?" he asked as he lowered his rifle.

"Yeah. Thanks, Mac," Sam breathed. Mac nodded.

"Let's get to my shuttle. Who knows how many more there are . . ." Mac growled softly as he brought his rifle up. Kyle smiled.

"None. They're all gone." Mac blinked.

"How do you know?" Sophie gave a deep purr as her tail swished.

"Sophie took care of it." Mac looked at her, a little surprised, but smiled.

"Heh, not bad . . ." Kyle walked up to MacReady and shook his head.

"What the _Hell_ is going on?" Mac sighed as he looked at them.

"We found out who was helping the damn Nazis, and found out they were going after you guys." Sam was surprised.

"Who was it, Mac?" Sam asked as Sophie looked her over to make sure she was unhurt.

"Len . . ." Sam sighed and closed her eyes.

"Why am I not surprised?" she growled. "That rat-tailed, stunted, lying, no-good, cheating, little-" Sam growled as she kicked the dead Nazi right in the head. Mac smiled darkly as he slung his rifle.

"Don't worry, he's getting his as we speak." Sam sighed.

Len had been a trader, and had lost his trade license for unfair deals and cheating in the past. Instead of learning from his mistakes, he blamed everyone else for his predicament. Len was also known for being a liar of the worst order, a braggart, a gossip and _a cheat_. In short, Len was the kind of person that everybody loathed.

Sam was brought out of her reverie by the hiss of static and a voice from MacReady's radio.

"_Yee-ha! I caught me a big one! I got the bastards' sub! I'm reelin' em in!"_ said the jovial voice over the radio of one of Mac's fellow pilots. MacReady grinned at the news before the radio screeched, making him wince as a new voice came on.

"_That bloody tub is booby-trapped, you idiot! Drop it NOW!"_ Kyle gasped and Sophie hissed. It was Barnabas' voice. A second later, they all heard a very loud boom in the distance and Kyle felt all the color drain from his face. Mac swore and tapped his radio.

"Keith, what happened?!" They all were breathless as there was no answer at first.

"_Goddammit! I just had those mag-lines installed!"_ Kyle sighed heavily as he rolled his eyes.

Mac groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'll buy you new ones, you simpleton! Just be glad you're still in one piece!" Mac yelled into the radio. Despite the situation, Kyle couldn't help smiling at the sound of Keith blowing a raspberry into the radio at MacReady. The bearded ship captain sighed before touching his radio again.

"Barn, what's going on?"

"_That blasted Gerry sub went firecracker on us, just glad Keith dropped the lines when he did . . ."_ Mac sighed and shook his head.

"We're in fine shape . . ." They could hear the most unusual chuckle from the Bar-Master.

"_Oh, there's some good news. We caught one of the Gerries. Alive."_ Mac blinked and even Sophie hissed with surprise. Mac was stunned.

"How?"

"_The stupid bounders made a raid on Monk's Mountain . . ."_ Mac blinked before grinning.

The monks of Monks' Mountain Island were far from pushovers or pacifists. In times of war, they were some of the most fierce fighters one could ever meet. The Nazis couldn't have picked a worse place to raid. _"What's the situation where you are?"_ Mac sighed softly.

"Good. Nobody hurt, five dead Krauts that I've seen, but there are a few more strewn around the forest." Mac looked at Sophie and grinned. "They met a bigger predator . . ." Sophie smiled as she held Kyle and Sam protectively.

"_Good to hear. If it's all right with Kyle, I'd like to come by so we can assess the situation."_ MacReady looked questioningly at Kyle and Sophie.

Kyle smiled and nodded while Sophie purred. Sam frowned as she looked at them.

"Kyle," The blonde looked at her. Sam took Sophie's hand and placed it on Kyle's shoulder."They have to know about Sophie." Kyle frowned slightly as he looked at his mate, who moaned softly. Sam smiled reassuringly. "You can trust them." Kyle looked at her and smiled.

Mac smiled softly, waiting for the exchange to end before speaking into his radio.

"No problem, Barn. Aim for the clearing with a spire in it, we'll meet you there."

"_Understood. As soon as I pick up Brother Shaun, I'll be there."_ Kyle blinked and Sophie hissed in surprise.

"Oh, and you're going to be meeting the other resident of the island, so don't have a bird."

"_Ah, Kyle's mysterious lady-partner. A pleasure, I'm sure."_ Barnabas sounded amused as he clicked off.

Mac looked over as Kyle picked up the handgun of the dead Nazi.

Kyle blinked as he recognized the weapon. It was a Luger, an ancient pistol more at home in a museum than on a battlefield. To top it off, it was a genuine cartridge-firing one. It was probably worth a small fortune. Kyle unloaded it as Mac came over. The captain whistled at the prize.

"One _helluva_ of a trophy . . ." Kyle frowned as he looked at the weapon with distaste.

"I'm really not too keen on keeping something like this . . ." Mac was about to respond when his radio hissed.

"_Mac, where are you?!"_ Kyle recognized the voice. It was Leon.

"I'm with Sam and Kyle at the moment." There was a sigh from the other end.

"_Good to hear. Shiloh's been worried sick about those three. Especially after what happened."_

Mac frowned at that.

"Yeah, I know . . ." Kyle blinked and Sophie hissed softly.

"_We'll meet up with Barnabas and meet you there."_ Mac sighed and shook his head at the situation. Sam sighed from where she sat on a rock.

"Well, we'd better get ready for when they get here . . ." Kyle nodded as he looked at the dead Nazi. Sophie gently nuzzled him as she wrapped her arms and tail around him.

"Right. Let's get things cleaned up . . ."

XXX

The small ship landed quickly and cleanly in the clearing next to the spire, settling down on the grass with a whine. With a hiss, the ramp lowered and four figures disembarked.

Barnabas was dressed in a dark-gray overcoat, his cane in his hand as he turned back to the others as they walked down the ramp. Leon was next, followed by Shiloh. The last was a tall figure, robed in the traditional robes of a Zerichs monk, the face obscured by the hood of the robe.

Sam was waiting to greet them at the edge of the clearing. Barnabas smiled, despite the gravity of the situation.

"Good to see you unharmed, Luv." Sam smiled as she led them down the path in the forest.

"Before you guys get there, you need to know something important . . ." They all looked at Sam. She smiled softly as they walked. "Kyle doesn't live here alone . . ."

As they walked, Sam related about Kyle and Sophie, how they had met and how Dr. Reinhardt and the Nazis had been involved. They all were stunned.

As they moved through the misty woods, Leon noticed how Shiloh would glance around nervously. Leon had tried to get her to stay home, but she adamantly refused. She tried to hide it and be brave, but he knew it was because she was terrified that she had come. Leon slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close and comforting her. The Milurians were already almost in a panic.

For two-hundred years they had told stories of the camps and the suffering, death and tears of the Milurian Holocaust. The appearance of the Nazis was like the Boogeyman or the Monster-Under-The-Stairs suddenly becoming real. The Milurians were as sweet and innocent as they were when they were first welcomed, when _Mercy's Caravan_ returned with its most precious cargo.

Gods' blessings upon Tobias Morgan, may his memory endure.

When they reached the clearing where the house was, Mac was sitting on the front step, smoking his pipe, his rifle laying across his lap. He looked up and smiled ever so slightly as he puffed some smoke.

"Let's get inside and go over this mess," Mac said as he stood and emptied his pipe. As they walked towards the door. Leon noticed a tarp over something. His eyes narrowed when he saw boots sticking out from underneath. Barnabas saw it, too, and quickly moved to block the sight from Shiloh's view. Mac opened the door and walked in, Barnabas following, then the monk, Shiloh and lastly Leon.

Kyle looked up from where he was finishing setting the table and smiled.

"Come on in and make yourselves comfortable." Kyle then motioned for someone to come in from the kitchen. They all blinked as the tall, black form entered and looked at them. Kyle smiled as the tall being gently placed a hand on his shoulder, giving a soft purr. "I'd like you all to meet Sophie."

They all stared, awed at her for a few moments.

Shiloh was the first to move. Without fear, she walked up and wrapped her arms around Sophie, a warm smile adorning her features.

"Kyle, she's _beautiful_." Sophie purred as she returned the embrace. Barnabas and Leon smiled, and the monk gave a deep, resonant chuckle from deep within his hood.

"Even in times of war, the warmth of friendship and solidarity keeps us strong . . ." said the monk. Kyle smiled as the monk pulled back his hood, revealing a human face. His head was shaved except for the left side of his head, where his hair was long and braided into a scalp-lock.

"It's good to see you again, Brother Shaun." Shaun nodded. Kyle motioned towards the table.

"Tea's hot and we have plenty of stew." With that, everybody sat to discuss the events swirling around.

Kyle sighed as he looked up from his tea. "Okay, tell me what's happening." Barnabas cleared his throat as he nodded.

"The Gerries were apparently on some scouting mission of some sort, but why the bounders would attack and give away their presence is beyond me." Kyle frowned at that. He looked at the Bar-Master.

"You said you caught one of them alive . . ." Brother Shaun chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, we did indeed. We'll interrogate him and see what we can drag out of him. We have herbs that will aid in extracting information from him." Kyle frowned. Mac looked at Brother Shaun.

"So, you caught one of the Krauts, huh? He high up?" Barnabas grunted softly as he sipped his tea.

"He's a Sergeant Major of the _Waffen SS. _The leader of this attack squad, most likely. We had bit of a lucky break there. But, that's assuming we can get anything out of the bugger. As nasty a bunch they are, SS are tough. Getting information, even with 'persuasion' will be difficult at best . . ."

Sophie gave a soft moan as she gently stroked Shiloh's fur, purring softly to reassure her.

_Kyle, she's so frightened . . ._ Kyle looked at the trembling Milurian and smiled softly.

_Sophie, please get her a blanket._ Sophie gave another purr before leaving. Kyle stood up and walked over to gently hug Shiloh.

"It's okay, Shiloh. You and everyone else are safe. Don't you worry." Shiloh gave a soft, almost inaudible whine as she returned the embrace. Leon smiled gratefully at Kyle. Sophie returned from their bedroom with one of their silk blankets and draped it over Shiloh's shoulders, purring softly. The ginger-colored Milurian smiled with gratitude at Sophie, who smiled back.

"Thank you, Sophie. It's so nice to finally meet you." Sophie purred as she nodded. Kyle sighed as he looked back at Barnabas.

"I think I have a better idea how we can get information." Barnabas raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? How's that, lad?" Everyone looked at him as Sophie purred, feeling what her mate had up his sleeve.

"Did you manage to get his PDA?" Brother Shaun nodded and reached into his sleeve and produced a black PDA, similar to the one Catherine had used.

"Hand it over," Kyle took it and tapped the screen, fiddling for a few seconds before it beeped and he smiled as he handed it to Barnabas. "Here you go." Everyone stared as Sophie gave a stuttering hiss. "I _was_ a tech engineer for Weyland-Yutani before I came here . . ." Barnabas blinked for a few seconds while Brother Shaun snickered. MacReady smiled as he relit his pipe.

"Go, nerds . . ." Kyle ignored the comment and Sam's retaliatory smack on Mac's head as Barnabas poured over the information in the PDA.

"You can read German?" Kyle asked. Barnabas smiled at the young blonde.

"Of course. Helps quite a bit when you have to deal with the likes of these bounders . . ."

Everyone was almost on the edge of their seats as the Bar-Master read through the information contained in the PDA. "Interesting . . ."

"What is?" Mac asked. Barnabas sipped more of his tea as he read.

"Well, according to what I'm seeing here, their directives are 'Investigate hostile world for number of hosts for Bio-Weapon-HS90'. Don't like the sound of that . . ." Barnabas looked up and was startled at the change in Kyle. His face was ashen, his eyes wide and unblinking.

_No. No, that can't be. They said they only found those seven Cradles . . ._ Kyle's mind was only a few steps away from panicking. Sophie gave a soft moan as she stroked his hair. MacReady and Leon exchanged glances.

"Kyle, you okay?" Leon asked. Kyle blinked as he looked at the floor, then down the hall, and, without saying another word, got up and left, Sophie following. Mac looked at Barnabas.

"This doesn't look good . . ." Sam shook her head as she set her tea aside.

"It isn't . . ." They all looked at her. She sighed as she looked at the small group. "What I'm going to tell you must _never_ leave this room . . ."

XXX

Upstairs, Kyle had walked into the studio, feeling numb and in shock. Kyle wasn't really seeing, just moving. He stopped and looked up. His eyes fell on a sketch. He came closer and looked at the drawing in black and white of the most hallowed place on all of Zerichs II.

Two-hundred years ago, when word reached Zerichs II of the tragedy of the Milurian Holocaust, the local traders and ship captains got together and linked together five cargo ships to take supplies to the desperate and starving Milurians who had survived the camps. They arrived in record time, setting a record for speed that had never been surpassed by loaded freighters since.

It was only because of their timely arrival that so many Milurians survived, but the ships returned carrying an even more precious cargo: Ten thousand Milurians, desperately seeking shelter and safety. Males, females, and the very few pups that survived. Those same ships were lovingly enshrined on top of a cliff not far from Zeraven. The grateful Milruians called the ships "_Mercy's Caravan_", a name that was known across civilized space.

When Kyle had first set foot there, he broke into tears. The image was powerful, but to actually stand next to these legendary ships was breathtaking. Kyle felt the tears return as he looked at the drawing. He felt Sophie wrap her tail around them both, softly embracing him and leaning her head against his as she comforted him.

_I'm here, darling._ He smiled softly, but sadly as he stroked her face. He looked at his other sketch and stared at the image of one of the most well-known, but most mysterious men.

When Kyle was a little boy, growing up in the ghettos of Berren Prime, he had once seen the only picture of the captain of _Mercy's Caravan_ and admired the man as a true hero.

_**Tobias Morgan.**_

When he came to Zerichs II, Kyle was amazed that there were numerous other pictures of one of humanity's greatest heroes. Kyle's sketch was of Captain Tobias embracing his wife, Shaloora, who was perhaps the most well-known survivor of the Milurian Holocaust.

Her whole family had died in the camps, and all but one of her seven pups as well. When she arrived on Zerichs II, Tobias made sure she never wanted for anything in her life, and loved her and her child as his own, to his dying breath. Sadly, none of those things were known off-world. That hardly mattered to locals, though. In fact, from his heroism, came a Zerichs term, still used.

To call someone a "Morganor" was saying they were a person of merit and heart who did what was right. It was the local term for a hero. Kyle's fingers touched the sketch and he smiled.

He had captured Tobias holding his wife lovingly as she cradled her baby. Interestingly enough, the way Kyle had rendered it, it looked almost like a statue. If superimposed over his sketch of _Mercy's Caravan_, it would look like a life-size stature standing in front of the ships, in the middle of the garden of flowers people had planted there. Sophie hugged her mate, giving him warm, loving thoughts to comfort his troubled mind.

Kyle felt someone approach through Sophie's mind. They turned, and Shiloh was standing in the doorway. Looking at her, neither of them could imagine how anyone could be so cruel and evil to such sweet, wonderful and loving people. Kyle tried to find words, but they died in his throat. He didn't need them.

Without a word, Shiloh walked up and wrapped her arms and tail around Kyle and Sophie.

They gladly returned the sweet embrace. Sophie purred, lowering it into the thrum she used when she was truly peaceful and happy. _She's so sweet._ Sophie observed as Shiloh's ears twitched.

_She really is . . ._ Ever since Kyle had first met Shiloh, Sophie had truly wanted to meet her, too, but they never could have risked it before. Sophie softly purred as she stroked Shiloh's fur.

"You're a lot like him . . ." Kyle blinked at Shiloh's words. She pulled back and looked at the sketch of Tobias. "No Milurian will ever forget his name." Shiloh looked up at Kyle as she brushed a strand of sandy-blonde hair from his emerald eyes. "You're a good man, Kyle Williams." Shiloh looked at Sophie and smiled. "And you're a very lucky lady. You have one of the best men in the universe." Sophie purred deeply at that.

_I know. I'm the luckiest female alive . . ._ Kyle hugged Shiloh, as did Sophie. His eyes caught his sketch of _Mercy's Caravan _as they filled with tears.

_Never again. Never again . . ._

XXX

Sam had finished telling the others about the past incidents with Sophie's kind and Weyland-Yutani and they were stunned. MacReady blinked as he thought on everything.

"Boy . . ." said the bearded ship captain.

"Indeed." Barnabas agreed, his arms crossed. Leon sipped his tea.

"This is a nightmare. If the Nazis have their hands on Xenomorph eggs, it would make the Borvanian Plague look like a flu outbreak." Brother Shaun had remained silent through the whole thing, just listening. Mac looked at Leon.

"Understatement of the millennium. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll get killed by their own weapons." Barnabas was about to speak when Kyle, Sophie and Shiloh returned.

"Kyle, are you all right, lad?" asked the violet-eyed man. Sam looked up, and was startled.

Kyle had always looked very young to her. His face had such a youthful innocence to it. Filled with life, seeming to glow. Now, though, he looked older. His eyes particularly. They weren't the eyes of an innocent and naive boy, but the eyes of a man, and a determined one at that.

"We have preparations to make . . ."

**Author's note:** An extra big thanks goes to my mother, whose help once again was invaluable. She helped me a lot with World-Building, something I haven't done a lot of before. Her help was instrumental with building the world and history of Zerichs II and Galactic history as well. So, if you wondered why this took so long, envisioning and writing seven-hundred years of fictional history across at least three galaxies takes a bit . . .


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

"What do you mean, 'preparations'?" Sam asked as she stood from the table. Kyle sighed as he looked at Brother Shaun.

"I don't mean to impose, but we need someone to watch over our home for a while . . ." This stunned the room into silence. Brother Shaun blinked before smiling.

"Ah, for your kindness in the past, we would be glad to take care of your home while you are away," replied the monk. Sam was reeling.

"Wait a minute, what's going on?" Sam demanded. Sophie gave a soft moan in reply.

"Sam, they know about Sophie's kind from Reinhardt's research. We can't let them use her people as weapons." Kyle looked at her. "We have to do something to stop them . . ." MacReady sat, listening and smoking his pipe. With a puff of smoke, he spoke.

"So, you two are just going to run off to the Outer Rim all by yourselves . . ." Everyone looked at him. Mac looked at Kyle, his piercing, slate-gray eyes locked on Kyle's. "And just what is it you intend to do when you get there?" Kyle blinked, silent. Mac smiled mirthlessly around the stem of his pipe. "The Rim is a dangerous place, kid. The Krauts aren't the only dangerous people around there. It's not very smart to run out there with no plan." Kyle frowned slightly.

"I was having a blonde moment." This brought a welcome round of laughter to the room. Mac puffed a little more smoke.

"Besides, with that dinky little ship of yours, it'd take you close to two years just to get to the Rim, let alone to get back . . ." Mac smiled a knowing smile at the young blonde and his mate. "Also, didn't I say if you needed a favor to ask me?" Kyle gazed in uncertain bewilderment at Mac.

"Well, yes, but not about something like this. This is very risky, and-"

"And I owe you for what you did for Sam . . ." Mac glanced at Sam, a small smile on his lips.

"My ship, unloaded, can get you there in six months, max . . ." Sophie hissed softly at this.

_Kyle, he's right. And the quicker we get there, the better . . ._ Kyle sighed as he looked at Mac.

"Thanks, Mac." The bearded man nodded. Barnabas smiled from his place at the table.

"From what I understand, Weyland-Yutani found the eggs of Sophie's kind in some sort of alien ruins. Based on that, you will probably need somebody who can understand alien languages . . ." Everyone looked at him. The Bar-Master chuckled lightly. "I know just the fellow for something like this. His name is Sergei." Leon looked at Barnabas, then Kyle.

"Kyle, I know you feel strongly about this, but don't forget who you're going up against. The Fifth Reich may not be as large or as powerful as the Fourth was, but they're no less dangerous. You also have to remember that W-Y are in this." Kyle smiled at Leon.

"I'm aware of that, but I can't just do nothing." Kyle reached up and stroked the side of Sophie's head. "Besides, if there's any trouble, I have Sophie . . ." Sophie purred deeply as she wrapped her arms protectively around Kyle. Shiloh smiled and did the same with Leon.

The ginger-colored, fox-like female looked at Kyle and Sophie, part of her sad at the thought of her friends leaving.

"Kyle, Sophie, I know this is important, but I wish you didn't have to go . . ." Leon pulled his wife into his arms and cuddled her. Kyle came closer and held Shiloh's hand. Sophie did the same.

"Don't worry, Shiloh. We'll be back soon." Sophie purred her agreement. Shiloh threw her arms around their necks and embraced them both. Shiloh's gentle, warm embrace steeled their resolve.

If the Nazis or W-Y got their hands on Sophie's kind for use as weapons, the tragedy of the Milurian Holocaust could repeat itself on Zerichs II, or something as bad on another world. As they pulled back, Shiloh stroked their faces softly.

"Just please come back to us. Both of you." They smiled and nodded. As Shiloh released them, they turned to Sam.

"Sam, you've been a wonderful friend, and have helped us a lot. So, we want to let you stay in our house while we're gone." Sam smiled and shook her head.

"It's a nice offer, but I can't." Kyle blinked and Sophie hissed softly. Sam put her hands on her hips. "Because I'm going with you." Kyle's eyes were wide and Sophie hissed with surprise. Mac smiled from where he sat. Kyle was about to speak, but Sam raised her hand. "I know what you're going to say, and I don't care. I'm still coming. You never know what may happen. You might need my help."

Sophie smiled and gave a soft moan as she walked forward and embraced her friend, pulling Sam off her feet. Kyle smiled as he lightly shook his head. He looked at Mac, who was smiling at the scene. The bearded captain gave one last puff on his pipe before putting it out.

"I need to get my crew together and stock up the supplies. I'll pick you three up tomorrow." Kyle nodded as Mac stood. Barnabas nodded as he stood from the table, still looking as dapper as ever.

"Right. I have some things I must attend to, as well. I'll bring Sergei by Mac's island tomorrow." The Bar-Master extended his gloved hand to Sophie, who smiled as she shook it. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madam . . ." Sophie purred in return. Leon sighed as he scratched behind his head.

"Listen, you two: don't take any unnecessary risks. We all want you home safe, you hear?" Kyle nodded. Shiloh gave them one last hug before she and Leon left. Brother Shaun smiled from where he sat.

"Well, it seems your quest has begun, young ones . " Kyle gave a soft smile at him. The monk stood and pulled his hood over his head. "The Great Wheel of Fate is turning. Only time will tell what shall come of it," the monk enigmatically mused as he left to catch up with Barnabas, Leon and Shiloh.

As soon as the door closed, Sam embraced her friends. No words were needed as they shared in the warm embrace, Sophie's tail wrapped around all three of them.

They spent the rest of the day preparing and trying to calm their minds. Sophie also disposed of the remains of the Nazis, having no desire to smell their vile stench any longer than necessary.

Despite the serious situation, Kyle still found the time to prepare a wonderful dinner for them. This time, he had prepared terriyaki-fish that was delicious. Sam turned in early, while Kyle and Sophie stayed up a little longer as Kyle drew out a few ideas and sketches before retiring.

As they crawled into bed, Kyle could feel something troubling his mate's mind. He gently held her hand as he embraced her mentally. Sophie gave a soft moan as she hugged him. Sophie had been thinking on how dangerous this was, and what would happen. As a result, her mind turned to what would happen if anything happened to either of them. Kyle smiled as he tenderly kissed her lips.

_Sophie . . . My sweet, beautiful, darling, lovely Sophie, I will never leave you to wander the stars alone . . .-_ Kyle gazed intensely at her, stroking her face. –_. . .for I'll be right behind you . . ._ Sophie wrapped her mate in her soft embrace as she pulled the covers over them.

_And I you, my sweet, wonderful, kind, beautiful man. My Bonded._ Kyle paid his tears no mind as the love of his life gave him another soft kiss on the lips before they drifted off to sleep. Where one of them went, the other would always follow, death and beyond.

The next morning, everyone woke bright and early as Kyle and Sophie made certain everything was in order. They had just finished breakfast when Sophie looked at the door. Kyle smiled as he stood and walked over to open the front door for their guests. Brother Shaun was there to greet him, as well as several other monks, all in robes. From their outlines, not all of them were humans.

"I hope you all slept well . . .?" Brother Shaun queried as Kyle motioned for them to enter. The monks each bowed in turn to Kyle and Sophie as they entered, as was the tradition of their order when invited to somebody's dwelling.

"I have a greenhouse out back, and we have our aqua-farm down in the cove. Whatever you grow or farm while we're away I want you to see as payment for taking care of our home for us." Kyle said as he gave Brother Shaun a small map of their island. Sophie nodded her agreement. Sam watched all this. The monks seemed a little surprised, but pleased. Brother Shaun smiled at Kyle.

"Your kindness is great. The bounty of your home will go to feed those who have naught, not us ." Shaun patted his muscular belly. "We eat well already." Kyle smiled agreement at the monk.

"Thank you." The monks nodded.

As Kyle, Sophie and Sam stepped out, Josey came bounding up. Sophie purred as she scooped her pet up and stroked her. Sam smiled at the cute sight of Sophie petting Josey, her pet rabbit. Sophie turned and walked up to hold Josey out to Brother Shaun with a soft moan. The monk smiled softly as he took the rabbit, who fidgeted and wiggled in his grasp before he began softly petting her.

"There, there, little one. Your friend will return. Shh . . ." He smiled at Sophie as Josey settled down in his arms. "Don't worry. She will be well cared-for." Sophie gave Josey one last pet before turning and leaving with Kyle and Sam. Kyle sent soothing warmth to his Bonded One as he took Sophie's hand, giving a loving squeeze, feeling the heart-hurt it was to leave their home.

_We'll be back, Sophie. Don't worry._ Sophie gently squeezed his hand back as she looked down at her beloved mate.

_I know._ Sophie wound her tail around him to reassure herself as they walked.

When they reached the clearing, Mac was already waiting for them by a small ship, puffing away on his pipe. Seeing them, he put out his pipe.

"Let's get going," chirped the bearded man as he led them into the ship. They all buckled into their seats as the ship took off.

As they flew, a thought occurred to Sam that hadn't before. She turned to Kyle as she queried,

"Kyle, how is it you know Brother Shaun?" Kyle smiled and chuckled as Sophie gave a stuttering hiss, holding both annoyance and dark delight. Mac raised an eyebrow as he piloted, waiting to hear the tale.

"He and the monks were the first ones to check on us when we first arrived on our Homestead, after the Serrex attacked. We ended out trading a few bundles of Serrek furs to them for equipment and the like. The rover me and Sophie use to move our harvest from the aqua-farm is one of the things we traded furs for." Sam smiled with delight. MacReady grinned with delight as he piloted the small ship.

"Good trade," the captain grunted, eying Sam. Sam smiled softly.

"You and Sophie have touched a lot of lives, even if you keep to yourselves." Sam observed.

Kyle gave a small rueful smile, Sophie purred as she held her mate's hand. As Kyle looked out the windshield, he saw a large, sandy island come into view.

He could clearly see a large ship sitting on the island, ready and waiting. The large, long craft was sitting, almost idle next to a small building.

"Ah, there she is. The _Vortex._" Mac's voice held rich satisfaction as they came in to land.

Barnabas was waiting for them by the building, along with Leon and Shiloh. As Mac and the rest approached, Kyle noticed a man with a mustache looking at something on a datapad, and guessed he was Barnabas' friend, Sergei. The Bar-Master smiled as they came up.

"Good to see you." He motioned to the mustached man and smiled. "This is Sergei, one of the best Xeno-Linguists this side of the galaxy." Sergei chuckled as he put his datapad away.

"He exaggerates. It's nice to meet you all," he softly drawled as he shook their hands. Kyle noticed he didn't seem fazed by Sophie at all. "I can hardly wait. Exploring an unknown alien civilization is a dream come true for me." They smiled knowingly at Sergei's eagerness. Kyle noticed that Leon was dressed in his fatigues and boots, ready for battle. Kyle's eyes did not miss the enameled red dragon pin on his black beret. The emblem of the Flying Dragoons. Shiloh gave Kyle and Sophie a warm hug.

"I'm going to miss you both so much." Sophie purred softly as she stroked Shiloh's fur.

"Don't worry, Shiloh," said Kyle as he pulled back. "We'll be back before you know it." Shiloh nodded sadly. She pulled up a bundle and gave it to Kyle, smiling as best as she could, for like all her kind, Shiloh's friendship was forever with those she formed a kith-bond with.

"Some more amaretto cake for you two." They smiled and hugged her once more. Everyone knew of Kyle and Sophie's intense love for the delicately wrought yellow cake. Barnabas smiled almost paternally at the pair as he stepped forward.

"Well, you all ready, then?" the Bar-Master inquired. Kyle nodded. Barnabas chuckled as he brought out his own datapad and showed it to Kyle. "I thought it might give you peace of mind if I showed you some pictures from Zeraven." Kyle looked at the datapad, his jaw dropped in shock.

There were armed men in fatigues with berets all around the streets, keeping watch as people went about their business. That, though, was not what had him so stunned. All the men had long mustaches and faces tattooed in elegant spirals, swirls and intricate designs. Each wore a sash of distinctive plaid patterns over his shoulder. Kyle could hardly believe it. The Tribes had come out of the sea mists, fogs to help, but then, this was a _global threat_.

Since Zerichs II had a very heavy Celtic population, Celtic culture contributed a lot to the culture of the world. As such, a few people had chosen to live on isolated islands in a tribal fashion.

These new Celtic Tribes were known for their hardy warriors and their elegant wandering Bards.

In fact, the Return of the Bards, an annual celebration where the wandering Celtic Bards would return to Zeraven, sing their songs and tell their stories, was only a few weeks away. Sadly, Kyle and Sophie wouldn't be there for it.

Kyle smiled at the sight of the Celtic warriors helping keep people calm. The Tribes were particularly protective of the Milurians, who still had not a single violent bone in their bodies, because of their genetic makeup, some scientists speculated, _they never would . . _.

Barnabas saw the relief flood into Kyle's face and smiled.

"That's not all!" Mac grunted from where he stood, lighting his pipe lazily as Barnabas put his datapad away.

"Indeed. The Gerries were fool enough to land on one of the moons." Kyle stared with stunned disbelief as Barnabas smiled thinly with grim dark delight. "They ended out staying for supper with the locals." Kyle couldn't help his snicker of grim delight, Sophie joined him.

The inhabitants of one of the two moons of Zerichs II, a race of pygmy-like tribal hunters, were decidedly not fond of outsiders. Anyone with half a brain stayed away from the moons. That is, unless they wanted to end up as lunch. "I think that dinner was served with cabbage, apples and a few woody parsnips," Barnabas commented as he straightened his coat dispassionately. Both Kyle and Sophie were fighting a losing battle with laughter at this point. Leon smiled, shaking his head over the news of this idiocy by the enemy as he walked forward, putting an arm around Shiloh, giving comfort to his mate.

"You two just stay safe, _real safe_. You hear?" Sophie and Kyle both nodded with a firm, grim resolution. Barnabas looked at Sam, giving his usual enigmatic smile.

"The same goes for you, Luv. You stay safe." Sam smiled as she hugged her friend. The violet-eyed man returned the embrace before looking at Kyle and Sophie. "Well, that about covers it. Now, go out there and help your lady's people, wot." Kyle blinked at that last, startled.

" . . .What?" Kyle asked as he frowned slightly. Barnabas grinned at that.

"Wot, wot." Kyle blinked. Mac groaned, a weak chortle of laughter escaping him as he walked behind Kyle and Sophie, gently pushing them along.

"Don't get him started. He'll 'wot' your ass until your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth," Mac grumbled as he ushered Kyle and Sophie towards the _Vortex_. Sam giggled, as did Shiloh. With one last wave, Sam went to catch up with Mac, Kyle and Sophie. Sergei smiled and followed.

Although the outside of the _Vortex_ appeared rusted and rough, there was method behind this Rent-A-Wreck-look, it kept the vulgar riffraff from giving the ship a second glance. The inside was anything but vulgar or rough. Kyle was amazed. The piping and conduits in the corridors were all hidden behind panels. The halls were lit with soft, golden light, giving the ship a close, comfortable and elegant feel to it. Mac seemed to swell with pride as he led them aboard. "Welcome aboard!" he said grandly as he led them into the mess hall. Kyle smiled with awe in his eyes, Sophie purred.

A large, wooden table sat in the middle of the room, wooden chairs with soft, comfortable cushioning sat all around, waiting to be filled. A chandelier that looked like black iron lit the room with warm, golden light.

_How lovely . . ._ Sophie commented as they walked through. If Kyle didn't know better, he'd think he was in a stately home, rather than on a cargo freighter. Sam smiled softly as she looked around.

"You redecorated . . .?" Sam observed, waiting. Mac flushed faintly.

"Yeah. I changed a few things since the last time you were aboard," he admitted as he led them towards the bridge. As they entered the bridge, they could hear the sounds of keypads being clicked upon. Someone sat at one of the chairs, typing. Mac nodded approval as they approached. "How's the novel going, Hemingway?" The person jumped at the voice. They turned to reveal a man with tousled brown hair.

"Oh, Mac . . . I was checking systems and going over everything one last time." Mac nodded with approval and his lopsided-grin as he motioned to the group.

"You already know Sam. The guy with the mustache is Sergei, the blonde is Kyle, and tall, dark and mysterious lady is Sophie." Mac introduced them to the man. "And this is Terry. Everything to do with tech or comms is his domain . " Terry smiled, a little shyly.

"Terry Lambert. Nice to meet you all." Mac looked around, then at Terry.

"Where's the rest?" Terry sighed, wincing, eying Mac warily.

"I told them over the intercom to get up here several times . " Mac sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Brother!" Mac groaned as he walked over to a button and pressed it. "Vic? Hugh? Where are you?" There was a hiss, but no reply. Mac growled softly and set his jaw. He looked at Terry, who shrugged. "Where's _Ay_-Mos?" Terry chortled with a grin.

"In cargo." Mac nodded and motioned for everyone to follow.

"I swear, I tell them all to be up here and ready to go, but do they listen . . .? Noooo." Mac grumbled as they walked down the halls towards the cargo area. Kyle couldn't help being amazed at the huge cargo hold of the ship. Of course, since it was a cargo freighter, that only made sense. Mac looked around the vastness of the cargo hold. "Aaaaaay-Mos?" he called softly.

"Over here, Captain," came the reply. They followed Mac to the far side of the cargo hold, where a tall man was looking over items in a container that was open. The man's white hair contrasted with his dark-green shirt and gray cargo pants. Kyle was amazed at his muscular physique, despite his obvious age. A-Mos turned to face them, revealing his mechanical left arm. "Ah, our guests, I take it. Welcome aboard, all of you." Mac nodded with a friendly grin at A-Mos.

"Sam you already know. From the left, that's Sergei, Kyle and Sophie." A-Mos smiled as he shook each of their hands. Despite how tall and muscular he was, he was far from intimidating.

"Ah, Mac told me about you and your lovely lady, Kyle. It's nice to finally meet you."

Kyle smiled as he shook his hand. Kyle noticed that A-Mos' mechanical arm was almost skeletal, with no attempt to disguise it as a normal human arm. Mac chuckled softly from where he was.

"So, where are the others?" A-Mos looked at Mac, his brows furrowed.

"They're not on the bridge?" Mac shook his head and A-Mos groaned. "All right, let's go gather the peanut gallery," the tall man growled as he joined them as they went further into the ship. As they walked, Sam smiled reassuringly at Kyle.

"A-Mos is a wonderful man. Mac saved him along with me during the Malera Conflict." Kyle blinked and Sophie hissed in surprise. Sam looked at the tall, white-haired man walking in front of them and smiled sadly. "That was where he lost his arm." Sophie moaned sadly at that. Sam shook her head as they entered an area that was a little more dirty than the rest of the ship. Kyle guessed they were entering the Engineering area. "Ironically, he was a USM soldier they left for dead." Kyle smiled bitterly at that, not surprised by it, but still soured by the news.

_It looks like MacReady was an Angel of Mercy during that war . . ._ Kyle mentally observed.

_Yes. Who knows how many lives he saved . . ._ Sophie purred as they walked.

As they wandered further into the greasy, dirty area of the ship, they could hear something clanking, like a wrench. A-Mos stepped over an open access panel and crossed his arms as he looked down into it. He casually used the tip of his boot to knock a heavy wrench into the open hole.

"Ouch!" came a yelp from inside. There was a grumble as someone emerged. The man's head was shaved into a Mohawk, his sunglasses hanging askew on his nose. "What the hell . . .?"

"Where the hell have you been?" Mac asked. The man looked up and grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, hi, Captain . . .-" Mac frowned darkly, the man broke off.

"Did you hear the call to get up to the bridge?" The man scratched behind his head as he grinned.

"Well . . .yeah, but I wanted to make sure these damn fussy pipes were all in order. You know how big a pain in the butt they are if they break." Mac sighed.

"This is Victor, our lead mechanic. Vic, Right to left, Kyle, Sophie and Sergei." Vic smiled with

a hint of uneasiness and straightened his sunglasses as he pulled himself out of the hole in the floor.

"Nice to meet you. I'd invite you in, but I just shampooed the rug." Mac groaned at Vic's joke.

"Just ignore his jokes," Mac ordered absently as he looked around. "So, where's Hugh?"

"Yo!" came a reply from above. They looked up at a panel in the ceiling that was open. A hand reached out and waved. A head poked out, upside down. The man wore a blue bandana over his black hair. From his skin color and the necklace he was wearing, Kyle guessed he was of Native-American descent. He smiled at Sam. "Hey, Sammer . . ." he greeted as he swung down and stood up. Sam rolled her eyes at this. She looked at Kyle and Sophie.

"Just warning you two ahead of time, these two are pretty annoying. You'll just have to live with it for a while . . . _or kill them now and get it over with._" Mac laughed aloud at Sam's biting bit of humor, as did A-Mos. Hugh smiled sheepishly at Sam.

"That's 'cause you ain't got no sense of humor, Sammer." Kyle noticed that Sam seemed a little irritated by the nickname. A-Mos cleared his throat and stood at attention, very much a military officer's stance.

"All right, you two. Enough of that. Where's Seth?" the white-haired man demanded. As if to answer their question, a voice came over the intercom.

"Captain? Where are you?" asked the cool, calm voice. Mac sighed with some relief as he pressed the button.

"In Engineering. Where are you?"

"On the bridge." Mac smiled.

"Stay there. We'll be right up."

"Rodger, Captain." Mac turned to the group.

"All right, everyone to the bridge. About time we got this show on the road," Mac groused.

When they arrived at the bridge, another man was there. He was about as tall as Kyle, with light-brown hair that was carefully trimmed around the sides of his head, but long on top, his bangs almost hanging in his deep-blue eyes.

"Hey, Captain," he greeted as the group filed in. A-Mos smiled lightly at the young-looking man.

"Seth, say hello to the new folks." A-Mos gestured towards the newcomers with his mechanical hand. "Sergei, Kyle and Sophie." Seth nodded, but Kyle noticed something when Seth saw Sophie.

The smile of wonder that crossed his features struck Kyle. When Kyle looked at MacReady, his mouth was hanging open, his pipe ready to fall from his lips. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the smile was gone as Seth took a deep breath, recomposing himself.

"Good to see you again, Sam." Seth looked at Kyle, Sophie and Sergei. "Nice to meet you guys." Sophie gave a soft purr as her tail swished very lightly.

_He smells kind of like you . . ._ Kyle blinked as he looked at his mate. He looked at Seth. There definitely was something different about Seth, but what, Kyle wasn't sure.

As the crew set about getting ready for departure, Mac watched Seth with amazement as the fellow went about his duties. Sam noticed this, and decided to ask.

"Something wrong, Mac?" He looked at her, then back to Seth.

"Sam, I've had Seth aboard my ship since he was fifteen, and in all that time I've only ever seen him smile a few times, and never like he did just now." There was a question in MacReady's words. Sam looked at Seth. As she watched, she saw him look up briefly. He looked over at Kyle and Sophie, and the smile returned, if only for a nanosecond.

Mac took his place in the Captain's chair as they started the engines. "All right, people! Let's get this crate in the air!"

Someone muttered happily, "Hypersleep, _here we come . . ._-"

XXX

Kyle moaned softly as his senses slowly returned. The first thing he was aware of was a soft hand caressing his face. He smiled as he reached up and held Sophie's hand.

_Good morning, my mate . . ._ Kyle smiled as Sophie gave him a gentle, soft kiss on his lips as he began to wake from the cryogenic stasis they had been in for the last six months.

_Good morning, beautiful . . ._ Sophie gently helped him to sit up in the open stasis pod.

Almost as soon as they were in orbit and had set course for the Telara system, they had gone into stasis. Thankfully, Mac's ship was outfitted with almost the best of everything, including the hypersleep section. He had outfitted the ship with Morpheus Stasis Pods, designed for very long journeys and to give maximum comfort to the sleepers.

Kyle had never woken from hypersleep feeling so well before. Sophie also liked the soft, comfortable pods, as they had plenty of room, but not too much. She had been able to sleep with Kyle in perfect comfort for the whole time. As he stretched, Sophie softly rubbed his shoulders as she draped her tail over his lap. Kyle smiled groggily at her as the others awoke.

"Morning, you two," greeted Mac as he pulled his jacket on. Sophie gave a purr as a greeting as Kyle swung his legs out of the pod. Kyle looked over and saw that Sam looked even more groggy than he did. He couldn't help a bit of a smile. Mac fished out his pipe and some matches from his jacket pocket as he headed towards the mess hall. "I'll go get some coffee brewing."

This earned several growls and groans of approval from the still-groggy crew. As Kyle stood, Sam managed to wobble over. Sam smiled excitedly at her friends.

"Well, we're almost there," she said as Kyle rubbed the back of his neck. He nodded as Sophie softly purred. Sophie took notice when Seth stood up from his pod and calmly walked over to retrieve his clothes. A-Mos finished pulling on his shirt and smiled as he patted Kyle on the shoulder as he walked past.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Let's get some chow." Sophie purred her agreement as Kyle got dressed and they headed for the mess hall.

The breakfast had been delightful, as MacReady, like many people on Zerichs II, had been spoiled by the native victuals, using only dried, canned or otherwise preserved natural native foods, no artificial, synthetic food. Sophie also appreciated this. Kyle thought the chowder was great.

Once breakfast was finished, they all gathered on the bridge to take their first look at their destination. As they walked onto the bridge, Kyle stared out the large window at the stars and blackness of space. It had been so long, he had almost forgotten what space was like. Right in the middle of the window was a small, red planet. Kyle sighed as he stared at HS-90, their destination. Mac lit his pipe as he sat in the Captain's chair.

"Okay, everybody, strap in. This might get bumpy," Mac warned as the crew strapped into their chairs as they began to descend. As they closed in on the planet, Kyle couldn't help noticing the bright, crimson-red color of the planet, that reminded him of blood. Sophie purred gently, holding his hand and winding her tail around him as she embraced him mentally. The ship rattled and rocked as they descended through the atmosphere of the planet.

Mac grunted as he steered the ship. "Closing in on the coordinates of the W-Y site. Turning forty degrees to Port." The ship tilted as Mac adjusted their course. As they breached the clouds, Kyle took at the desolate landscape, and immediately felt homesick for their home of beautiful oceans and balmy island life.

The planet was almost a desert, a _frozen desert_. Some tall, rocky mesas stood up from the sandy plains, but there was little else. Sophie felt the same, missing their island and forests, not to mention the grand majesty of the sea. "There it is," Mac growled low. Everyone looked up at the rocky mountain that stood out in the middle of the vast plains of blood-red sand. Mac and the rest of his crew carefully brought the ship in for a landing as close to the mountain as they could.

The ship shook and rattled as they landed, but not unduly so. Mac sighed as they powered down the engines and the ship finally came to rest on the harsh, unforgiving sands of an alien world. "And we're here. Terry, give me an atmospheric, if you please . . .?" Terry tapped in the commands as Kyle unstrapped and walked over to stand by the window, gazing out at the landscape. It reminded him of pictures of Mars, before it was terraformed and colonized. Terry hummed as the readout came up.

"Let's have a look-see . . . Primarily Casmium gas, helium, some nitrogen. Not what I'd call 'breathable." Mac sighed darkly as he put his pipe out.

"Suits." Mac looked at Kyle. "Sorry, but it looks like Sophie will have to stay here." Sophie gave a very soft growl. Kyle looked at Mac with amusement.

"No, she can come. Her kind are very adaptable. Trust me on this one . . . captain." Mac eyed Kyle, then Sophie, then nodded as he leaned against a console.

"So, Captain, now that we're here, what's the plan?" Terry asked. Mac coughed lightly as he scratched his beard.

"We go in and find any eggs that they don't already have loaded, get them back on the ship, and trash any of their tech." Victor raised an eyebrow at this.

"So, we're going to be messing with the plans of Weyland-Yutani and the Nazis at the same time?" the mechanic yelped with a glitter of malicious delight in his eyes. Mac nodded.

"That's about the size of it." Vic grinned and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Oh, goodie! Random destruction, _my favorite._" A-Mos cleared his throat as he stood to the side.

"If you don't mind my asking, what do we intend to do with these eggs once we get hold of them?" Mac frowned lightly.

"We'll worry about that part later. Right now we need to keep them out of the hands of W-Y and the kamikaze Krauts." Mac looked over at Terry. "Any chatter or activity in the area?" Terry typed as Sam walked over to stand next to Kyle and Sophie. "Not a thing, Captain. It looks like we're alone out here." Mac sighed deeply with sheer relief.

"Don't jinx it," Mac ordered softly.

XXX

Kyle sighed as he slipped into the spacesuit. He had only worn one once in his life. It was a strange feeling to be putting one on after so long. The team going out consisted of himself and Sophie, of course, as well as Sergei, Seth and A-Mos. Mac and the rest were staying on the ship. Sam had not been pleased about the arrangement. As Kyle slid the seals closed on his gloves, he noticed A-Mos loading a magazine into an assault rifle. Sophie gave a soft hiss as she gently touched Kyle.

"Just remember that we're here to help Sophie's people, not hurt them." A-Mos tossed a reassuring smile towards Kyle and Sophie as he slung the rifle.

"It's not your lady-friend's relatives I'm worried about: It's whatever else we might meet out there." Kyle sighed with unease, nodded grimly as he put the helmet on and locked the seals with a whispered hiss. Sophie gave a soft moan as she ran her fingers gently over Kyle's faceplate.

_Stay close to me, Kyle. I'll always protect you . . ._ Kyle smiled as he touched her face.

Seth watched Kyle and Sophie as he suited up. There was something so . . . different about the way the two of them interacted. Different . . . _and wonderful_. He had never seen any two humans that got along as well as they did. As Sophie gave a soft moan, running her long fingers over Kyle's helmet, a strange feeling came over Seth. He blinked hard over eyes stinging faintly as he pulled on and sealed his gloves. With a grunt, he lifted up his helmet and fastened it.

Sergei seemed almost ready to explode with excitement as he patted Kyle on the shoulder.

"Well, shall we go? History awaits!" Kyle smiled indulgently at the man's energetic excitement as they headed to the airlock. Seth had prepared the large, four-wheel drive rover earlier, making certain all was secure on the rover. As they got into the rover, Mac's voice came over the radio.

"_Okay, you all know what the plan is. Follow Kyle and Sophie on most of this, but don't take any risks, any of you. Anything happens, you get your rears back here, ASAP."_ With that, the airlock depressurized, opened, letting in the blood-red light of the sun, the howling of the winds and dust as the rover rolled out, towards the large mountain. Seth was the one driving, keeping a careful eye on a display in one corner of his faceplate. About halfway there, A-Mos noticed something.

"What's that?" A-Mos muttered, pointing to something to their left. Seth steered towards the disturbances. As they got closer, everyone could see what they were: Weathered tracks and abandoned containers, all of them bearing the Weyland-Yutani logo. Seth didn't stop, passing swiftly by instead.

"Looks like this is where they landed," Seth mused as they saw the obvious prints of the landing gear of a ship in the sands. As they headed towards the mountain, Kyle adjusted the brightness of his visor, as the brightness and red color was starting to strain his eyes. Sophie hugged him as they neared the mountain. She didn't like the suit, since she couldn't feel Kyle's soft skin, but knew it was necessary. As the sun was blocked out by the mountain, Kyle looked up at the jagged, rocky giant.

"There it is," Seth breathed softly, awe in his voice as they neared an opening in the rock at ground level. The tracks still visible in the sand indicated that they weren't the first visitors.

"_Vortex_, are you reading us?" A-Mos growled as they came to a stop.

"_Affirmative, A-Mos. We're receiving you fine and clear."_ Mac's voice replied in their ears.

"All right, we're going in," Seth murmured warily as he got out. Kyle and Sophie followed closely, with Sergei next and A-Mos bringing up the rear. As they stopped in front of the opening, A-Mos came up to take point, Seth behind him. They all switched on their flashlights as they carefully entered the cave.

Kyle was surprised just how dark it was. Sophie, on the other hand, could see just fine, linking her mind with Kyle's to allow him to see what she could. Kyle noticed that the cave, or, more properly, tunnel, was shaped oddly. It looked to Kyle's eyes like it was kidney-shaped. Aside from that, there was nothing exceptional about it. Loose gravel, rock and sand littered the floor. In front, A-Mos swept his rifle around, shining the light on it across the tunnel as they traveled deeper into it.

As they moved deeper, Kyle felt an odd sense of unease from his mate. He gently stroked one of the tubes on her back as he sent warm, comforting thoughts through their link. Sophie purred gently as she leaned against Kyle, for comfort, for them both.

As they rounded a corner, they saw the red light of the sun, shining through an opening in the wall. A-Mos motioned for the others to stay back as he slowly crept forward and took a look.

"All clear." A-Mos softly droned in their headsets as he motioned for them to join him. As Kyle and Sophie walked through the opening, they stared around at the large room. In the middle was a large, cracked, shattered and worn piece of stone. There were holes in the ceiling, letting the crimson sunlight into the room, where it pooled looked _like . . . like . . . day-old blood._ There were mounds of dust almost up to Kyle's knees in some places. As they looked around, Kyle wondered just how old the ruins were. Sergei was stunned as he shined his flashlight everywhere.

"These walls are much too smooth to be natural. This room had to have been carved out by someone or something," the linguist croaked as he looked at the large lump of rock in the middle of the room with wonder. Kyle glanced around at the beams of light shining in, almost like spotlights.

"Mac, can you and the others see all of this?" Kyle queried as he looked around.

"_Affirmative, Kyle. We can see everything. I can see some footprints over to your left . . .?"_ Kyle looked over where MacReady had indicated. Sure enough, there were footprints in the sand. As Kyle came closer, he could see the W-Y logo in the prints made by heavy boots. Kyle sighed darkly as he followed the tracks. They wound around, as if the people who left them had been looking around the same as they now were. Sophie had climbed up onto the rock that dominated the middle of the room. Kyle could feel Sophie's unease at the strange place growing.

"Another opening over here," Seth softly muttered from the other side of the room. A-Mos checked carefully, making sure there were no threats before having the others join him. As Kyle was leaving, he cast one glance back at the rock and frowned at the shape he saw. Was he seeing things?

"Kyle? Come on!" A-Mos called. Kyle looked back down the tunnel.

"Coming," Kyle softly muttered as he turned to follow. Maybe he was going crazy, but he thought for sure the massive rock looked a lot like a face, albeit, a defiled one.

As they walked down the tunnel, A-Mos leading and sweeping the hall with the light on his weapon, Sergei was looking at the walls carefully. Kyle and Sophie walked side-by-side in the middle while Seth brought up the rear. As Seth looked towards the front of the group, he noticed that Sophie's tail was arched over her back, almost like the tail of a scorpion. It was clear as day she was on edge.

"Is she all right?" Seth gently whispered. Kyle looked back at him, as did Sophie.

"What do you mean?" Kyle returned. Seth gave the tiniest of smiles.

"Because she looks ready for a fight." Kyle blinked, startled and looked at Sophie. He sighed uneasily, before looking up at Seth.

"Sophie's kind pass memories down at the genetic level. Some of her memories are coming to the surface about this place, and they're making her very nervous." Seth raised an eyebrow at that.

"What's she remembering?" Kyle frowned as Sophie gave a very soft growl.

"More feelings than anything, but this place isn't a good place . . .," letting his voice trail off, because it was so nebulous. Seth looked at Sophie as she dropped down to walk along on all fours.

"Guys, take a look at this," A-Mos ordered softly from up ahead. They hurried to catch up, stopping behind A-Mos, who was looking at a large light, standing on the floor, shining on a broken, cracked wall. Sergei stared, awed at the obvious writing around what was once a door.

"My _word_," he breathed, incredulous as he pulled out his datapad and began typing. Kyle blinked against the eery crimson-light as he came closer. They kept having to adjust their face-plates against the strange, yet painfully piercing light. Sergei was furiously typing as he looked at the glyphs, muttering to himself in various languages from time to time. "This is amazing. This almost looks like cuneiform . . .and yet . . .? . . . Not. No." Kyle looked at the odd writings and symbols.

"Can you read it?" hoped Kyle. Sergei frowned as he read over the screen of his datapad.

"With a few minutes and a little guesswork, yes . . .," Sergei muttered vaguely, more to himself enspelled, transfixed since they entered the room, then to the group, as he concentrated. A-Mos was knelt next to the light.

"More W-Y tech!" A-Mos snarled low, saying the name like a curse. He stood and looked warily around. Sophie was starting to pace, obviously agitated. Kyle gently laid his hand on her head as he let feelings of warmth, love and bonding flow from himself to Sophie.

_It's all right, Sophie. I'm right here . . ._ Sophie curled her tail around Kyle in gratitude.

"I'm running it through my translation algorithms. It should automatically translate it for us."

A-Mos carefully peeked into the room through a shattered door before entering.

"Big room, but empty," A-Mos grunted as he returned to the group. Sergei's datapad beeped and he looked over the readout. "What's it say?" A-Mos hissed low. Sergei frowned.

"A lot of the writing was destroyed, so it's incomplete, but, it roughly translates a word that seems to mean 'caution' or 'attention' . . .?" Kyle frowned at the words, his unease beginning to grow.

He and Sophie knew those of W-Y were many things, but fools was not one of them. A-Mos sighed lightly, as if puzzled, as he looked further down the passageway.

"Well, let's see what's down this way," A-Mos whispered, taking point once again. As they walked, Sophie stayed very close to Kyle, not just to protect him, but also for comfort. Up ahead, they could see more of the disturbing, crimson/scarlet sunlight. Kyle looked up at the hole in the ceiling of the tunnel as they passed, shivering faintly within his suit, not liking any of this one damn bit.

They entered into a new room. This one, like the rest, was a large dome, the floor covered with crimson stained sand dunes. They immediately could see a large path tracked in the sand. There had been a lot of people coming and going in the room recently. As Kyle entered and looked around, he could see why.

Crates and containers were still resting where they had been set. All around the room were dark objects in various states of disintegration. The best-preserved ones were ovals, and very familiar ones at that. Kyle closed his eyes and mentally groaned, with sorrow and something else. Sophie moaned, as if she were in physical pain. She moved forward to investigate the dead Cradles that littered the room.

A-Mos looked askance to Kyle.

"Kyle, are these-?" Kyle nodded curtly as he followed Sophie.

"Yes. These are Cradles. The eggs of Sophie's kind. Or they were . . .-"

"_Nobody but Kyle goes anywhere near those!"_ Mac ordered over the radio.

Kyle knelt next to one of the Cradles. The side was almost completely disintegrated, the curled Seeker inside calcified and long-dead. As the wind lightly blew in the room, more of the Cradle crumbled away right before his eyes. Kyle stood and looked over at Sophie as she sat next to three other Cradles, all of them little more than dust; dust and death.

_Sophie, are any alive?_ Kyle's heart hurt at Sophie's feelings of sadness.

_No . . ._ Kyle walked over and gently hugged his mate. Sophie moaned a sad softest keen of grief as she curled her tail around him, her grief her mate's grief and sorrow as well as her own. Seth carefully approached, looking around, but keeping his distance.

"Are they all dead?" Kyle sighed and nodded. A-Mos looked at a spot where there was a very large number of footprints. There were depressions in the sand where something had been removed. Seven of them, in fact.

"I think I found where Sophie's egg was," A-Mos huskily muttered.

"_Kyle, what happened? Were the eggs burned?"_ Sam's voice whispered over the headset.

"No. It looks like these Cradles were just . . . _just old,"_ Kyle whispered, sadness in his voice.

Sergei looked over at the other side of the room and noticed something. Some crumbled rock and debris seemed to be piled up against a wall. He walked over and examined the pile of rubble. Some of it looked like it might have writing on it. One stone in particular looked to be relatively intact. He reached out and grasped it, gently pulling. At first it didn't budge.

With a grunt he pulled again, and this time, it came free, quite unexpectedly, sending the linguist backwards as the large pile of unstable rubble collapsed. A-Mos spun at the sound, as did the others, A-Mos had his weapon up, at the ready. A-Mos looked at Sergei, then to the large collapsed rubble, his light vanishing into the black of another opening.

"We've got another doorway." They looked over at it. A-Mos carefully walked over and peered through. He looked back at the others. "I don't know about you, but I really want to know what the hell happened around here." Kyle nodded curt agreement as he stood, along with Sophie. Once again, Seth brought up the rear, and A-Mos was on Point. Kyle kept his mind linked with Sophie's.

_If I were strong enough, I'd carry you . . ._ Sophie gave a very soft purr to this.

_Thank you, Kyle._ Kyle could feel Sophie's unease growing at an alarming rate. Something about this place had her spooked like nothing they had encountered to date. Even Dr. Reinhardt's research station hadn't felt as frightening as this place did. Seth walked almost next to Kyle, yet still behind, Rear Guard.

"So, do their eggs die after a time?" Seth whispered over the headset, all of them speaking very softly, even whispering, not certain even why they were, they just were. It was as if they were unsure if the five of them were alone or not. Kyle glanced sideways at him.

"Yes, but it would take a very, very long time. Those Cradles might be millions of years old, for all we know," Kyle replied. Seth blinked against the brightness of the crimson/scarlet light and such startling news. He looked at Sophie. He looked back at Kyle, Seth's deep blue eyes shining.

"Were they her family?" Kyle closed his eyes and nodded.

"Yes. Her sisters." Seth looked back at Sophie as she walked, with a sorrow in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," was all Seth could hoarsely croak out. Sophie looked back at Seth. Seth's smile was one of both apology and empathy, tinged by a bitter twist of private grief. "I know how much it hurts to lose family."

As they walked down the halls, they felt the sand begin to disappear from under their boots. Kyle frowned as their flashlights played on odd shapes on the walls. They were shiny. Kyle blinked as he approached one of the walls, if he was seeing what he was seeing. He recognized the forms with shock, at least partially.

The walls were lined with the odd, bone-like structures. They were almost like ribs on the walls. They looked sort of like how Sophie and her kind made their hives, but this was different. They were too regular, and even. Sophie and her kind constructed more randomly. It was almost as if this were imitating how Sophie's kind built.

Sophie reached up and touched the wall before swiftly jerking her hand away with a hiss of distaste. Although the contact with the substance had been brief, through the link, Kyle had felt it wasn't metal, but more like some kind of . . . bone? Plastic? What kind of material it was, he had no idea, but it unnerved him like nothing else had in this crimson-stained crypt. A-Mos shined his light around the hall.

"Well, if this isn't alien building, I don't know _what_ is," he mused as they walked down the corridor. As they moved, they noticed that it seemed to be getting darker and darker, like a blanket of black velvet descending down on them. A-Mos stopped, his light shining on another doorway. This one was made from the same metallic material as the rest of this strange corridor. The room beyond the smooth-lipped opening was as black as pitch.

As he approached, Sophie shivered as she crouched so low, her belly touched the floor. She suddenly growled as she bounded forward, almost knocking A-Mos over as she darted past, hissing and snarling, her tail wildly whipping around as she bared her teeth in aggression. Kyle dashed after her as she crouched, fingers splayed, tail whipping as she screeched loudly. Kyle ducked under her tail as he wrapped his arms around her, his helmeted head touching her face.

_Sophie, it's all right! It's okay!_ Kyle could feel her confused, frightened thoughts and feelings, mixing with instinct as he tried to calm her. Sophie was preparing for _blood-battle._

"_What the hell's going on down there?!"_ Mac demanded over the radio. A-Mos kept the others back as Kyle calmed his frightened mate.

"I don't know," A-Mos calmly retorted, not wanting to upset those still aboard their ship and thus be ordered back, ASAP. They watched Sophie gradually calm, her tail wrapping around Kyle as she shuddered from some inner turmoil this damn place had set off within her.

"It's okay. It's okay. Shh. It's all right. Shh, shh . . ." Kyle gently stroked her head as he held her. The others carefully approached.

"_Kyle, what happened?"_ Sam whispered in a strained voice through the headset. Kyle gave a light sigh of relief as he stroked Sophie's head.

"Her Hive Memories . . .-" As Kyle stood, he shined his flashlight into the large room they were standing in. Something huge dominated the middle of the room. Something bizarre. A-Mos set his light on the large lounging form as well.

It looked like some bizarre mechanical crescent attached to a huge telescope aimed upwards at the ceiling. The construct was in the middle of some sort of huge turntable in the center of the room.

"_What the hell is _that_?"_ MacReady yelped, sounding as stunned as they were. Sophie moaned as she slowly rose. A-Mos frowned as he kept his weapon aimed at the machine. If it even _was_ a machine.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Mac," A-Mos shot back softly as he investigated the strange construct. Sergei was amazed as he stared at the mammoth shape in the middle of the room.

"Astounding," breathed the linguist.

"Hey, guys?" Seth grunted from where he was on the other side of the object. "You might wanna take a look at this." They all followed, and stared at the huge form that his flashlight was focusing on.

"My _gawd_!" Sergei hissed.

"That isn't your god," Seth snapped as they stared at the huge skeleton that lay where it had fallen.

It looked like an elephant, the "trunk" seemingly attached to the ribs. The whole form was massive. Even bigger than Sophie. There was a large hole in the right side of the chest, obviously the source of the giant's demise. A-Mos looked the alien carcass over before he looked at Kyle.

"Kyle? What is this?" Sophie shuddered as she hissed.

_Creator . . ._ Kyle looked at her, and his eyes seemed to glue to her. The young blonde seemed frozen in place, his eyes going misty and distant for a few moments. Seth frowned at his silence.

"Kyle? You okay?" Kyle didn't reply. He looked up at the huge device in the middle of the room, his flashlight locked on it. Without a word, he strode to the bizarre shape, Sophie following.

Kyle climbed up onto the strange thing and cast his light down on the sides of a large hole in the shape.

On either side were what were obviously buttons. Kyle pressed one of the soft, oval shapes. A beep was heard. He pressed two more, seemingly guided by something beyond the comprehension of the others in the room, with the exception of Sophie. One of the buttons glowed blue and Kyle pressed it.

Suddenly, the room flashed with bright_ clear_ light, showing just how high the ceiling was above their heads before the room went dark again.

"What the hell was that?!" Seth hissed as he looked around. A-Mos looked at Kyle.

"What did you do?" They didn't have to wait long for their answer.

Another light dimly illuminated the room from the way they had entered. They all turned, and stared in awe as they saw the ghostly, slightly fuzzy image of the giant skeleton walking into the room. It was a hologram. Sergei moved out of the way, but Seth stood still, even as the image walked right through him to stand next to the machine that Kyle and Sophie were perched on. "Jeez . . . That thing's gotta be fifteen feet tall!" A-Mos breathed as the giant hologram pressed a few buttons on the construct.

They noticed that the hologram had a strange golden color to it. Suddenly, they heard garbled yelling. They and the hologram of the giant whirled and faced the entrance, and stared as two more of the giant's kind ran into the room. These ones, though, were different. They were smaller, and they were colored a dull gray. They both were holding strange, long tubes of some sort. They yelled something at the giant in an alien language, garbled and distorted. The golden giant pointed at them and yelled something back.

One of the smaller giants raised the tube he held and pointed it at the golden giant, a bolt of blue light flying from the weapon, hitting the golden giant in the right side of the chest, going right through and hitting the wall behind as the giant groaned and fell. The two gray giants looked at each other and talked in their language. The two giants never noticed the familiar shapes silently climbing down the wall behind them.

Unlike Sophie, the Xenomorphs in the hologram had ridged heads, and looked a bit bigger. The giants never knew what hit them as their attackers dropped on them, landing on their backs and knocking them down. They tried to bring their weapons up, but the Xenomorphs seemed to know the long tubes would bring death, and held them fast against the giants' chests. One of them ripped the weapon away, sending it flying away to the other side of the room.

The other giant almost managed to bring its weapon up before the Xenomorph used her tongue to smash open the skull of the giant, bringing its struggles to a halt. The other Xenomorph grappled with her disarmed opponent, trying to overpower and subdue it. The giant managed to place its feet on the Xenomorphs chest and kick it away long enough for it to roll over and get to its feet to try to run.

Another Xenomorph dropped from the ceiling, knocking the fleeing giant down as the recovered Xenomorph lunged and grabbed one of the giant's feet. The Xenomorph on top aided her sister and grabbed the other foot as they swiftly dragged the struggling giant towards the door where the other one was vanishing with her wounded, but still living prey.

The giant tried in vain to grasp the tubes and pipes on the floor to keep from being dragged off, failing in the end. The doomed giant gave one last, tortured wail as it was dragged through the door and the room flashed. The hologram was gone. Everyone was stunned beyond words at what they had just witnessed.

"_Um, would somebody mind telling me just what the hell that was?"_ MacReady squeaked over their headsets. A-Mos looked up at Kyle, still perched on the huge machine in the middle of the room, Sophie right next to him.

"Kyle, how the hell did you do that?" A-Mos hissed. Kyle stroked Sophie's head.

"Sophie showed me . . ." Seth nodded.

"Right . . . Hive Memories. Those were her sisters. Who-knows-how-long ago? They would have passed their memories on to her." Seth stated. Kyle nodded. Sergei looked at the skeleton of the massive golden giant.

"And who or what are these?" muttered the linguist.

"Creators," replied Kyle with a soft sadness in his voice. They all stared at him.

"_Creators of what?"_ Sam wailed. Kyle frowned as Sophie gave a soft moan.

"Sophie's people." The whole room was silent.

Seth walked over to the body of the giant and knelt next to the head, shining his light carefully over it. He frowned as he looked carefully at where the "trunk" joined with the skull. He reached out and touched it.

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you,"_ Mac warned. Seth's brows furrowed as he looked at the skull of the giant.

"Somehow I doubt it's a zombie," he replied. He noticed that the "trunk" seemed to have come loose from the chest. Curious, he grasped the trunk and pulled upwards. He was surprised when the skull seemed to "unlock". With a grunt of effort, he pulled up, and the top of the skull came off, revealing not only that it was, in fact, a helmet, but something even more strange. Seth drew in a breath at what his eyes beheld. "You've gotta be kidding me."

The others stared as well at a face that was far from alien. It was so human, it was frightening. Sergei's eyes were wide as dinner plates as he muttered something in Russian, obviously floored.

"This is . . . unbelievable." Sergei almost choked. Sophie hissed softly from where she was. A-Mos smiled wryly at Sergei.

"Why not? Seeing is believing." Sergei knelt next to the giant, looking at the revealed face.

"It's amazingly well-preserved. Doesn't look like it's rotted at all . . .-"

Indeed, the face of the giant almost looked as if it was sleeping. Curiously, the giant's skin was the same golden color as the suit that covered it. A strangely beautiful, golden humanoid, a _helluva big human at that._

"_Well, that just about takes the cake . . ."_ Mac croaked weakly. Sergei looked up at Kyle.

"Do you think you could bring up the interface for that machine?" Sergei hissed softly, almost pleading. Kyle nodded. Sergei smiled with relief as he stood. "Good! I think it can translate and see just what is going on here." Kyle pressed a few more buttons on the device, and suddenly the room flashed again, but this time the whole room was bathed in a soft-blue light, amidst that soft-blue light, an immense hologram shimmered, nearly filling the entire room.

All of them easily recognized what it was, here and there, hisses and sounds of awe, wonder echoed over the headsets.

"That's a map of the galaxy," A-Mos gasped huskily as he watched a solar system pass right in front of his face. Sergei's grin threatened to take over his face.

"You're most certainly right! This is astounding! Stupendous!"

"_You can marvel over it all later. Right now just see if you can find out what the hell was going on here!"_ Mac barked, his own unease heard in his sharp _order_. Sergei nodded as he climbed up onto the machine and brought out his datapad. Sergei was remarkably quick in his task as he pressed buttons on the machine and tapped the screen of his datapad.

They blinked at the sudden shift of glittering lights, as the map highlighted HS-90 with green, a thin string of green light flowing out and away to a large planet with rings around it. A-Mos looked at the display, then to Sergei.

"Well?" Sergei frowned.

"To find out exactly what was going on here, I'd need a few years to fully translate the language and get into the memory banks of this place, if I even could . . .?-" Sergei's voice again trailed off as his attention was diverted away with years of happy research. Seth frowned from where he was.

"I seriously doubt we have a few years!" Seth snapped, Sergei was yanked back to the here and now by the sharp tone of Seth's reprimand.

"But, I did manage to kill two birds with one stone, though," Sergei pointed to the highlighted planet. "Where they were going to is where they come from. They were returning home when this happened."

"_So, that's an observatory?"_ Sam queried hoarsely, the strain was coming through in her voice, as it had in Mac's over the headsets. Sergei chuckled with a bitter amusement and shook his head.

"Not by a long shot," Sergei sourly mused. He pressed a few buttons, the map closed, and instead displayed a pale-blue hologram of a strange U-shape. Sergei grinned, but it was more a baring of his teeth. "This isn't a base, or a laboratory; _it-is-a-ship_." They all stared at the bizarre shape of the ship they were standing in, unease leaping from one to the other; a contagion, as they realized the true nature of the danger.

"_Sergei, did you copy down the coordinates of where they were going?"_ Mac demanded in a terse sharp cold voice of pure command.

"You bet your balalaika I did," replied the linguist.

"_Good. Now, do you think you can set the engines on that ship to overload?"_ Sergei's eyes grew huge and Sophie hissed.

"Um . . . I think so. The interface is pretty user-friendly." Sergei looked at his datapad as it translated, then touched the ends of the "horns" of the ship in the hologram. The horns highlighted in yellow as Sergei touched the hologram, moving through options in alien glyphs that as a linguist, Sergei recognized.

A-Mos looked around at the room, at what could only be the bridge of a bizarre alien craft.

"Good idea, Mac. I don't want to even think what W-Y or the Nazis could do with tech like this . . . I have my skin goosed up already!"

As Sergei worked, Seth approached Kyle and Sophie, who were keeping to themselves.

"You two all right?" Seth gently inquired. Kyle looked up at him. He gave a halfhearted smile.

"We will be once we get out of here," Kyle tried to sound reassuring. Seth nodded, not fooled for a nanosecond. He looked at Sophie and gave a very soft smile. Sophie tilted her head as she looked at him. Kyle's smile grew very slightly as he slid an arm around his mate. Sophie wrapped her tail around Kyle in response.

Sergei frowned as he touched the engines again, this time highlighting them in red as red text flashed in the air.

"Okay, all I have to do is confirm and it's ready to blow . . ." said the linguist as he put his datapad away.

"_How long before it blows?"_ Mac snarled softly. Sergei frowned as he looked around.

"About seven minutes." Sophie hissed and A-Mos gave a low groan.

"That makes for one helluva marathon," moaned the former soldier. Mac groaned through the radio.

"_It's that, or leave it for the Krauts. Do it and get your butts back here."_ Sergei nodded and tapped the command in the alien letters, his fingers trembling faintly. Suddenly, the whole ship filled with the sounds of an alien alarm blaring in a high-pitched whine. More a distressing _screech_, the kind that sets nerves on end.

"Now let's move!" A-Mos yelled as they dashed for the exit. Kyle and Sophie ran side-by-side.

Kyle looked at her and smiled.

_Boy, does this bring back memories . . ._ Kyle mused to his mate as they dashed through the tunnels, back towards the rover.

They managed to make it back to the _Vortex_ in record time, but then, death by a massive explosion can bring on some serious speed. Mac already having engaged the ship for instant take-off. As soon as the airlock was closed, he began taking off.

"_Hang onto your hats, folks!"_ Mac advised as they took off. The ship rocked as it took off.

Kyle and the rest managed to make it to the bridge just as the monitors showing the surface of HS-90 lit up as the alien ship detonated. It was an amazing relief when the blood-red skies of HS-90 faded into the black of space.

Mac sighed as he set the ship to orbit the planet for the time being. "Okay, now that that's done, let's go over what we've got from this little escapade." As he turned to his crew, he noticed Kyle and Sophie just disappearing through a door. "Where are they going?" he wondered, hands on his hips, eyes wide with dismay.

Sam sighed softly as she looked at him. "They just need some time to themselves, Mac. It was rough, real rough on Sophie planet-side." Mac nodded in sudden understanding.

XXX

Kyle and Sophie had retreated to their cabin to rest and relax. Sophie had been extremely troubled by the events in the ruins, and her mind was filled with confusion and fear as a result.

The two of them lay under the sheets of the large bed, snuggled together to comfort each other.

Sophie already felt worlds better being able to smell Kyle's scent fully, and feel his wonderfully soft, warm skin. She thrummed as the feelings of fear and anger melted away. Snuggle-time always made them feel better. For the time being, the rest of the world and universe didn't matter, nor would it be allowed to intrude. Sophie stroked her mate's wonderfully soft hair as she nuzzled him. Kyle smiled as he stroked her head, just enjoying being close to her.

Kyle's eyes slid to the nightstand next to the bed, and the small object that rested on it. It was a piece of the same resin Sophie used to make their bedroom back home. It was carefully shaped like a heart, a miniature version of Sophie's tail stuck through it like an arrow. Across the front were raised letters that read "Sophie loves Kyle". He smiled and nestled his head against her neck as he closed his eyes. Sophie's "Valentine" was one of the few things he had brought from home. Kyle treasured the small item dearly. Sophie thrummed deeply as she curled around her beloved mate. They almost fell asleep, but not quite.

Kyle couldn't tell how much time had passed before Sophie felt someone coming.

"Kyle? Sophie? It's me. Can I come in?" Sam gently pleaded as she knocked.

"Sure, Sam." Kyle replied as he sat up. The door slid open as Sam walked in. She smiled as she looked at her friends.

There was something so sweet and beautiful about Kyle and Sophie. Seeing them cuddled together in their bed just warmed her. "Sorry to disturb you, but Mac wants you guys on the bridge." Kyle nodded and Sophie gave a gentle moan as they got up and followed her.

On the bridge, Mac and the others were standing around a large table that was displaying the map of the galaxy that Sergei had recorded in the derelict ship. Mac nodded towards Kyle and Sophie as the cleared his throat.

"All right, from what we know, those beings, those 'Creators', at the very least were the reason Sophie's people were out here, if not the ones who made them. The big question is: Why?" A-Mos cleared his throat as he stepped up to the table.

"I have a theory . . ." the former soldier tapped the hologram and brought up the images from the cameras in their suits. "From what I saw of the layout of those ruins, they reminded me of a weapons depot." Everyone looked at him. "It looks to me like they were using Sophie's kind as bioweapons. Likely they filled ships like that one with eggs, then dropped them behind enemy lines during war. Kind of like a bomber." A-Mos tapped the hologram with his mechanical hand, bringing up the map of the galaxy again. "And look at this . . ."

He pointed to several planets that had green glyphs near them. "My best guess is they have bases on these worlds, too." Mac groaned as he looked around the map. Seth stepped forward, his brow creased in a frown.

"A-Mos, can you superimpose our star-chart over this?" Seth swiftly grunted. A-Mos did as he asked. "That's where Almus Prime used to be," Seth croaked as he pointed to one of the highlighted worlds. The group murmured in astonishment at this.

Almus Prime had been a frontier world the Rim Corps had been exploring several centuries back when it exploded. It was still one of the biggest mysteries, as planets just didn't up and explode.

Seth frowned as he looked at the other highlighted worlds. Although there was a planet in the place on the map from the derelict, in the modern star-charts, those spaces either were empty, or were asteroid fields.

Sam swallowed as it clicked.

"They destroyed their bases, and the planets they were on!" The room was stunned into silence.

"Good god! I can't imagine how advanced they must be to have such destructive capability," hissed Sergei weakly.

Victor grinned smugly as he looked at MacReady, gloating happily.

"Well, this means that the Nazis and Wey-Yu can't get their hands on their tech." Seth gave a soft groan at this.

"Maybe, but now we have an even bigger problem." They all looked at him. Kyle nodded gravely with Seth's unspoken assessment.

"He's right. The Creators have much more advanced technology that either the Nazis, or Weyland-Yutani. They're a much bigger threat than both of them combined." Kyle gestured to the map. "The fact they can destroy whole planets is a testament to that." Mac groaned as the realization hit him and nodded.

"He's absolutely right. The last thing we want is for the Krauts or W-Y to get a hold of that kind of technology." Mac looked at the highlighted planet with rings around it, strange rings, what they meant, none aboard could say, not yet; not until they got there. _If they got there_. "This is where they were coming from and where they were going. This is where we'll find answers." Kyle's fingers fluttered over the ringed world, out in the deep, cold darkness of unexplored space; at least, unexplored as far as any of them were concerned.

MacReady looked up at his crew. "I'll put it to a vote: All in favor of flying out of explored space to find Sophie's people and butt heads with the most technologically advanced race in the known universe and possibly get ourselves vaporized?" Everyone raised their hands, even Sophie. "Opposed?" Nobody moved. MacReady grinned, shaking his head over it ruefully, but not surprised at all by the unanimous vote. "All right, then. Terry, set our course for the Creators' home world." Terry nodded with a small grim smile.

"You got it, Captain,"

Kyle rolled his eyes, this meant returning to hypersleep, for how long, he was not certain, nor was anyone else come to that. _Great, back to hypersleep . . ._ Sophie purred as she hugged him.

_It's not so bad when you have somebody to share your dreams with you . . ._ Kyle smiled as he looked at his mate as she stroked his hair.

_How right you are, my beautiful lady . . ._

XXX

The bridge of the ship was filled with activity as the massive screens displayed the _Vortex_ as it was leaving the Telara system.

"Should we engage, Herr Claus?" asked one of the black-clad soldiers. The captain of the ship, Claus, frowned.

"No. Follow them, but stay out of their sensor range."

"_Jawohl_ . . ." Claus grinned darkly as he watched the _Vortex_ on the screens.

"This may prove more fruitful than we first thought," he sneered softly, delighted with this sudden turn of events. Events that could bring him honor, glory, wealth _and power_. Like his forebears, power was, of course, of prime importance – _always._

**Author's note:** I apologize for the long wait, but I was sick since the last posting with pneumonia. I want to thank my readers for their patience and support. As always, ideas and suggestions are more than welcome. Especially cover and artwork ideas.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

Sophie yawned as she came back to consciousness from hypersleep. She always seemed to be the first to wake. As she looked down at her beloved mate, who still slumbered, she smiled serenely.

The sound of a cough brought her attention up as MacReady swung his legs out of his stasis pod. He gave a soft groan as he rubbed his head as he regained his senses. Sophie watched as Mac just sat there. She gave a moan so low, no normal human would hear. The sickness she had sensed when they first met had gotten worse, the reek of sickness was overwhelming to her acute olfactory orbs.

In the two years Sophie had been living with Kyle, she had made a special point of learning everything she could about human anatomy, physiology and everything else that would better enable her to care for her mate. Sophie knew almost as much about the human body and how it worked as most doctors did. Sophie had sensed sickness when Kyle was sick with the flu a few years ago, but that was a different kind of sickness.

As Mac finally got to his feet, he coughed lightly as he opened his locker, removed his clothes and got dressed. Sophie watched as Mac walked towards the hall, towards the mess hall. Sophie gave Kyle a soft kiss on the cheek before sliding most gracefully out of the stasis pod and following the captain of their ship.

As MacReady walked down the hall, he gave a soft groan as he staggered, listing faintly to port. His face creased into a light grimace of pain as he rubbed his temples. He was surprised when he felt something wrap around his waist. He looked over his shoulder as Sophie looked down at him, giving a soft moan. Even though Sophie couldn't verbally speak, Mac could tell she was worried. He gave a soft, weak smile.

"Don't worry, Sophie. Just a little groggy is all," he soothed as he rubbed his neck. Sophie gave a soft sound that was something between a moan and a trill, motioning towards the mess hall. Mac nodded as they walked, Sophie's tail wrapped around his waist the whole way helped alleviate the trace of vertigo. When they reached the mess hall, Sophie pulled out a chair and gently urged Mac into it. The bearded man couldn't help a smile. "Thanks." Sophie nodded as she unwound her tail from him.

Mac took a deep breath and sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. As his headache pulsed, he felt something warm running from his nose. He reached up and wiped the tiny trickle of blood away. He looked up as Sophie returned with a cup of hot coffee, offering it with a soft purr. He smiled as he took the cup from her. "Thanks a lot, Sophie. You're an angel." Sophie trilled at that. Mac inhaled the sweet aroma of his favorite _Cafe au lait _coffee, already feeling worlds better.

XXX

Kyle sat up in his stasis pod with a mild groan. He felt Sophie's mind softly brush his and smiled.

_How's MacReady?_ Kyle mentally queried as his mate returned to the hypersleep chamber. She thrummed deeply as she walked over to stroke her mate's soft, sandy-blonde hair.

_Much better . . ._ Kyle smiled.

"'Morning, you two," said Seth as he stood and rolled his shoulders. Sophie purred her greeting as Seth gave a soft smile at them before going to retrieve his clothes. Sophie walked over and purred at Sam as she got up from her stasis pod. The mocha-skinned woman smiled at her best friend.

"Good morning, Sophie. Hope you slept well." Sophie answered with a gentle hug. Sam chuckled as she returned the embrace.

After a good breakfast, the crew gathered on the bridge to see their destination at long last.

Kyle couldn't help staring at the pink and blue clouds of space-dust in the distance as they stared at the home planet of the Creators, and Sophie's people.

The planet was a silvery-gray color, with large rings around it. It looked like it was larger than Zerichs II, from what they could see. Mac gave a soft groan as he looked out at the planet.

"So, that's it . . . The home planet of the Xenomorphs and the Creators." Mac turned to the others. "All right, let's take her down," he ordered as he took his seat. "Terry, give me the coordinates from the derelict ship, if you please . . ."

"Aye, captain," replied the tech as he typed. Everyone else took their seats and buckled in as the _Vortex_ began its descent through the heavy clouds. Kyle watched as lightning flashed through the extremely thick clouds, white-hot, illuminating the atmosphere to silvery-white.

"Whoa! Talk about weather!" exclaimed Hugo as Mac watched the screens.

"Terry, give me a scan of the surface. "Pea Soup" doesn't begin to describe this visibility," Mac groused as he adjusted for turbulence. The screens lit up with a display of the topography of the planet far below. The digital display showed a surface that was very hilly and mountainous in the area. As they flew through the storm, the screen displayed a flat surface not far from the coordinates. The screen also indicated that it was near a very large body of liquid.

Mac frowned as he took the ship in and gently circled the flat plateau that overlooked their destination. "Coming in for landing. Hang on, everybody." Mac guided the ship gently down through the thick clouds and fog, the rain pattering on the windows as they came down. With a rumble and a bit of a jolt, the _Vortex_ landed. Mac sighed as he looked over the screens as he turned the engines off. "Terry, give me an atmospheric," Mac ordered. Terry complied. The tech stared at his screen, one eyebrow cocked at the readout.

"Well, that's interesting . . . Almost like home. Primary elements are Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon and Carbon dioxide." Sam looked over Terry's shoulder at the readout.

"But almost none of the trace elements are known to the computer," she observed. Mac nodded.

"She's right. Let's test it on an Air Fern," he said as he tapped buttons.

The Zeralius Fern of Zerichs II, also known as an "Air Fern" was one of the most useful plants in space, and one of the few things Zerichs II traded off-world. The fern was extremely sensitive to air, and if it was placed in an atmosphere that humans couldn't survive in, it would die within minutes. It could be viewed as the Twenty-Eighth Century version of the canary in a coal mine.

Within a few minutes, they had an answer, and Mac was stunned. "Wow . . . The fern isn't dying; It's thriving," He looked at his crew with a light grin. "The air's breathable." This was met by appreciative murmurs from the rest of the crew.

Through all of this, Kyle had been in concentration with Sophie.

_Sophie, can you feel any others?_ Sophie gave a very soft moan.

_Yes. It's very faint, but I can feel them somewhere._ Kyle could feel excitement from her, but also apprehension. Sophie had never been around others of her kind. Nor had he, for that matter. They had no idea how they would react to their unusual relationship. Kyle glanced up as Mac stood from his chair. "All right, let's get our suits on and we'll-"

"You guys are staying here." Kyle said bluntly. Everyone stared at him as Sophie gave a sound somewhere between a snort and a growl. "Me and Sophie can pass the scent-test, but _you_ can't." Kyle noticed the confused stares he was receiving. "The rest of Sophie's kind would view you as prey; hosts. Or, to be blunt – _meat on the hoof_." Sam strode forward at this.

"Wait a minute! You two aren't going out there all alone!" Sam was exasperated. Sophie gave a soft purr as she gently took Sam's hand. Kyle smiled gently at her.

"Don't worry, Sam. We'll be all right." Sam frowned as she looked at them, uncertain, but then, there wasn't really anything anyone else could do. Mac sighed as he lit his pipe.

"They're right, Sam." They looked up at their captain. "Sophie and Kyle _are_ different. The others aren't Bonded to a host." Mac looked at Kyle, his eyes questioning. "But, what are you two going to do?" Kyle sighed as he stood up.

"We'll tell them what we're doing and why we're here. They're not dumb animals, you know," replied the blonde. A-Mos sighed from where he stood, arms crossed.

"You're right, son. You have a mental Bond with Sophie, so it stands that you should also have one with the rest of them. I have a hard time thinking they'll attack someone who does." Kyle smiled at the former soldier's words. "That said, just be prepared in case things turn sour." Kyle nodded Sophie purred her agreement. Mac smiled as he cleared his throat.

"Okay, then. Take a suit and a survival kit with you. Just in case," Mac advised. Kyle nodded as he and Sophie headed off for the airlock. Sam looked at MacReady, who just smiled at her.

"Mac?" Sam pleaded. Mac puffed some smoke as he looked out the window at the rain.

"They know what they're doing, Sam. We've gotta have faith in them."

XXX

Kyle sighed with relief as he slipped into the slimmer survival suit. He was still a little nervous, but that was alleviated by Sophie, who sat next to him as he fastened snaps and buckles. A-Mos walked up and offered a large pistol in a leg-holster.

"Better to have it and not need it." Kyle smiled gratefully as he took the weapon and attached it to his belt and thigh. "You two just stay safe, you hear?" Kyle nodded and Sophie purred.

Seth sighed as he handed Kyle the survival pack.

"Just try to keep in radio contact, okay?" Seth tried to keep a calm, collected face, but Sophie could sense his concern. She purred as she very gently reached out and touched his hand. Seth smiled very softly at them. Kyle smiled warmly.

"We will. And I'll try to keep the lens of the camera wiped off so you guys can see what we see," Kyle said as he stood. Seth nodded. With that, Kyle and Sophie stepped into the airlock.

Sophie held his hand as the airlock cycled. Kyle smiled up at her.

_Well, are you ready?_ Sophie gave a very soft thrum to acknowledge Kyle's words as she curled her tail around him.

_Yes._

The airlock opened to the sounds of the rain softly pattering on the rock and ground. Kyle breathed deeply, appreciating the fresh smell of the rain as they carefully stepped out. The sand under their feet was a silvery color. As they carefully walked out, Kyle could see some of the rocks, and had no doubt anymore that they were on Sophie's home planet.

The rocks had a very distinctive look to them. They were hardly at all like the rocks on their world. They had that distinctive biomechanical look to them. As they walked through the rain and the edge of the plateau, Kyle noticed how moist the air was. It reminded him of back home on Zerichs II.

Sophie was, at the same time, thrilled, and wary. She kept Kyle very close to her, keeping her senses as sharpened as she could. As they walked, Kyle took note of the flat plateau they had landed on, and frowned. It didn't seem natural, but, then again, who was he to say what was natural on an alien world?

When they came to the edge of the plateau, Kyle stared down into the mists down below.

He couldn't be sure, but he thought he could hear the sound of waves. There was a path that led down into the valley below. Kyle looked at Sophie as she stared down at the mists that obscured the valley.

_Sophie, are they down there?_ She gave a very soft rumble.

_Yes. I can feel it._ Kyle nodded as he began to walk down the path, Sophie right beside him.

The two of them kept their minds linked as they ventured down into the misty valley below. Through their link, Kyle could feel a faint sense of something his human mind had a difficult time comprehending. He knew it was the minds of others of Sophie's kind, but it felt . . . diffuse. As if he were listening underwater, or looking through silk curtains.

Thankfully, neither Kyle nor Sophie could sense anything that felt like the Creators. That said, Sophie did, indeed feel other creatures and life around. Kyle carefully glanced around, but the mist and rain obscured his vision beyond about fifty feet. Sophie scent-tasted the air with her tongue as they moved. Kyle heard a few rocks and pebbles move, somewhere in the mist. Sophie comforted him.

Her instincts and Hive Memories told her nothing around them at the moment was threatening. If anything, they would be tasty. As they got closer to the bottom of the path, Kyle noticed the rain slowly coming to a stop. He reached up with a gloved hand and ruffled his mop of wet, sandy-blonde hair. Sophie purred softly as she ran her long fingers through his hair. The young blonde smiled at his mate as they finally reached the valley floor.

There were more rocks strewn around, but these looked different. They looked cracked and broken. Kyle glanced around as Sophie smelled the air.

"Mac, are you guys reading me?"

"_Loud and clear. Video is solid. Sophie feel anything yet?"_ Mac responded.

"Yes. She can feel they're somewhere around here." Kyle heard Mac give a soft sigh on the other end.

"_You two be careful. We don't know what might be out there."_ Kyle nodded as he looked at Sophie.

"Don't worry. We're being cautious," Kyle chirped over his headset.

As they walked into the valley, Kyle saw more and more of the broken, shattered rocks. Some of them were bigger than Sophie. Kyle noticed the area lighten up as the mist lightened ever so slightly. He looked up, and his eyes grew wide as he stared at the diffuse silhouette that towered about them.

"_Kyle, is that what I think it is?"_ Sam gasped over the radio, as stunned at what she was seeing as Kyle was. Kyle nodded as he stared up into the mists at the two, massive prongs of one of the Creators' ships that loomed high above them in the mists.

Even though it was hidden and diffused by the mists, Kyle was awed by the immense size of the massive Juggernaut. Standing on the bridge of the derelict ship they had been, deep underground and looking at a hologram, Kyle had not realized how gigantic these ships actually were. Sophie growled softly as she wrapped her tail around Kyle and pulled him close. As Kyle looked down at the ground, he could see other shapes in the mists. Obscured, diffused shadows that he was just barely able to perceive.

Sophie kept him close as they walked through the mists. Kyle blinked as he saw one of the huge shapes begin to take form as they came closer. It was a building, and not one crafted by human hands.

The whole structure was huge, looking to Kyle's eyes like a rounded pyramid, as paradoxical as that sounds.

"_Looks like somebody cut a giant onion in half . . .-"_ Victor's voice died away, his jest falling flat. Kyle couldn't help a bit of a smile at that. He was right. Kyle noticed that the very top of it looked fractured. As his eyes drifted around, he realized that the jagged rocks everywhere were pieces of these buildings. Sophie kept Kyle close. Just like the ruins on HS-90, she was extremely wary of the Creators' city.

As they walked, Kyle saw more and more devastation. Some of the buildings were nothing but giant piles of rubble, while others were nearly intact. Here and there, Kyle noticed strange things that seemed to be growing out of the rubble. Sophie's Hive Memories associated the strange, living objects with plants. They weren't dangerous, whatever they were. Kyle noticed that there was a distinctive lack of color to the environment.

Everything was a silvery gray, or shades thereof. Kyle surmised that whatever happened had to have happened a very long time ago, as some of the buildings and even the ships were overgrown with plants. At least, he thought they were plants.

"_Boy, this place was really blown to hell . . .-"_ Mac murmured absently over the headset. Kyle nodded as he and Sophie walked through the ruined streets.

"Yeah. This place looks like a war-zone," Kyle said as he glanced around. There were a few pieces of what looked to be the huge, U-shaped ships lying on the ground or smashed into buildings.

Kyle looked up at the huge silhouette of one of the ships, still whole, crashed into one of the larger buildings. As they approached, Sophie gave a hiss. Kyle felt Sophie's turbulent feelings and steeled his nerves as they neared the broken wall and peered into what remained of the building.

If they had ever had any doubt that Sophie's kind had been on that world, it was swiftly erased as the sight that greeted them inside.

"_Good god,"_ breathed A-Mos through the radio as they all took in the ruined remains of the hive. Although it was still very misty, Kyle could clearly make out the huge shape of what remained of the Queen, laying where she had fallen, so long ago. Her womb was still attached, but little more than dust, as were the Cradles. The whole building looked like it had been scorched. Some of the walls look like they had partially melted. Sophie gave a sad, keening moan at the discovery. Kyle wrapped his arms around his mate, sending feelings of warmth, love and comfort through their link.

_I'm so sorry, Sophie._ Sophie keened sadly as she hugged him.

_There are still others alive._ Kyle nodded as he stroked her face.

_You're right. And we _will_ find them._ Kyle gave the love of his life a soft, gentle kiss on the cheek as they continued on.

"_You two okay after that?"_ Seth demanded. Sophie gave a very soft purr of gratitude at Seth's concern. Kyle smiled sadly.

"Yeah. Thanks, Seth." They were both thankful that they weren't alone out there. Pretty much everything they could see and hear, so could the others back on the _Vortex_.

"_Kyle, Sophie, you two be extra careful, now. It looks like that city was bombed something fierce. Even if it was a long time ago, ordnance can still go off years later,"_ A-Mos warned. Kyle sighed as he looked around the misty, ghostly remains of the Creators' city.

"You're absolutely right. Thanks for the heads-up, A-Mos,"Kyle said with gratitude.

Kyle and Sophie wound their way through the destroyed city, passing countless destroyed buildings and ships. Some were much smaller ships, apparently fighter-ships. Curiously, they hadn't seen any bodies or skeletons of Creators. Then again, after such an obviously long time, local scavengers would have carried off and eaten any bodies they could reach. Indeed, through Sophie, Kyle could sense there were quite a few animals in the city. Kyle made careful observations as they headed towards where Sophie could sense the others were. It wasn't always easy going, nor was it a straight path.

As they neared where Sophie was telling them to go, Kyle started to see buildings that weren't damaged. Kyle couldn't tell if these buildings had been missed, or were deliberately spared.

"_Magnificent architecture,"_ Sergei croaked his voice filled with awe at the alien buildings.

As Kyle and Sophie rounded a corner, they stopped and Kyle drew in a breath.

"Oh yeah? What's this do for you?" Kyle inquired as he stared up at the single largest building that he had ever seen.

The massive pyramid was bigger even than the Great Pyramid of Giza. Like the others, it had that same, rounded form to it. The massive building seemed to be completely untouched. What little damage could be seen were minor chips in the surface. Sophie crouched low on all fours as she gave a low, hissing growl at the sight of the building.

_They're in there . . .-_ Kyle looked at Sophie, then back to the huge building, feeling Sophie's thought trailing off as emotions and hive-memories began to percolate within her mind. They carefully approached the massive, rounded pyramid, both of them on edge. As they neared the base, Kyle could see an opening. The large arch was smooth-lipped, just like those on the derelict ship had been. As Kyle looked up, he could see the silhouette of another of the U-shaped ships in the mists, resting on top of some cliffs in the distance.

His gaze drifted back down to the entrance of the pyramid as Sophie stood upright beside him. Kyle looked at his mate as he gently took her hand. Sophie looked at him and smiled lovingly as she softly squeezed his hand.

_I love you, my darling Sophie._ Sophie thrummed deeply.

_I love you too, my beautiful Kyle._ Sophie softly wrapped her tail around him as they turned to the entrance. Kyle took a deep breath as he and Sophie walked into the darkness, hand-in-hand.

**Author's note:** Extra thanks goes to my mother, for her help with ideas and catching the occasional error that slips by, as well as her medical knowledge. Thanks also goes to my friend LadeeKittee, who happened to find the book, _Giger's Alien_ for me, which has not only helped with the artwork I am doing for the story, but also given me ideas for the story itself.

As always, reviews and cover ideas are welcome, and I give full credit to those who gave suggestions.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

The darkness seemed to press in all around them as they ventured further into the pyramid.

Kyle brought up his flashlight as they walked through the alien hallways. Kyle noticed that they looked similar to those they saw on the derelict ship. Kyle could feel Sophie's feelings and thoughts as she followed the faint tendrils of those here, somewhere deep within the pyramid, somewhere ahead of them. Sophie led, but always kept her tail wrapped around Kyle, his hand held tightly, but gently in hers.

They walked down the dark halls, turning where Sophie's instincts told her to. Kyle noticed they seemed to be heading downwards, under the ground.

"_Kyle, Sophie, your transmission is breaking up. That building must be interfering with the signal," _Mac advised. Kyle sighed as he glanced around with his flashlight.

"Not surprised. It looks like we're underground, now," Kyle gave back.

When they rounded a corner, Kyle almost froze as the beam of his flashlight fell on very familiar shapes all over the walls, floor and ceiling. Kyle recognized the resin Sophie's kind used to make their hives. Through his link with Sophie, he could feel they were getting closer. Sophie thrummed deeply, the sound resonating down the tunnel, amplified by the construction of the lining, rippling into the area ahead of them. When there was no response, they ventured deeper.

As they walked down the tunnel, Kyle heard something. They both stopped as he listened.

It sounded like something cracking. It sounded to his ears like old eggshells being cracked open. Sophie wrapped her arms around Kyle as the feeling of the others grew even stronger.

_The others are coming . . ._ Sophie wrapped her tail around them both. Kyle softly stroked her hands in reassurance, neither of them moving as the shadows in front of them seemed to tremble, to sway uncertainly.

Kyle couldn't help being awed, at the same time, nervous as the first one slowly and gracefully emerged from the shadows.

This one was larger than Sophie, the head was ridged, instead of Sophie's smooth carapace.

Kyle could feel Sophie's mind reaching out to a Sister. At the same time, Kyle could feel the mind of the other Xenomorph because of his link with Sophie. It reminded him of when he and Sophie were first communicating, when she hadn't yet learned to form thoughts into words. From the feelings and emotions, he could feel some confusion. At this, Sophie thrummed as she stroked his hair and nuzzled his face.

The thoughts and emotions Sophie was sending were warm and friendly, showing her Hive-Sister that Kyle was a friend. Kyle could feel what he could only call surprise from the other one. Kyle could see others beginning to emerge from the darkness behind the one Sophie was communicating with. The other Sisters seemed just as surprised as the first one.

Then, the first Xeno slowly moved forward, stopping in front of them. She very gently reached out and stroked Kyle's hair. Sophie purred as she nuzzled him, giving him soft, reassuring thoughts as she introduced him. The other Xeno gave a soft thrum of welcome, the other Sisters approached, awed and amazed as the first Sister at this strange new member of the Hive.

Suddenly, Kyle felt all of the others connecting their minds with his. He gasped as his eyes flew wide open, as he could feel every thought, emotion and sensation they could. His body trembled, he would have fallen, if not for Sophie holding him. In all his life, Kyle had never felt anything like it before. He was vaguely aware of someone speaking over the radio.

"_Kyle, what's going on? The image is so fuzzy, we can hardly see a thing,"_ Sam's voice hissed through his headset. Kyle could only manage a shuddering gasp as his mind flooded with thoughts and feelings. Sophie quickly helped to filter the thoughts, to keep him from losing consciousness. Kyle swallowed as he felt one of the other Xenos gently running her long fingers across his sensitive throat.

"We're all right, Sam. We . . . made some new friends." Sophie purred deeply as she nuzzled Kyle's face. He smiled warmly as he very gently touched the side of the other Xeno's face. He could feel all the others, their large, soft hands gently stroking and feeling him. Just like Sophie, they seemed particularly fascinated by his hair.

"_You mean you found others of Sophie's kind?"_ MacReady gasped in shock. Kyle couldn't help a smile as one of the surrounding Xenomorphs gently stroked his cheek with a long finger. Kyle knew that Mac had never quite believed what they had told him; now Mac had no choice.

"We sure did . . ." Kyle turned his head to look at one of them as she extended her tongue to smell him.

"_So, Kyle, what now?"_ Mac croaked. Kyle smiled warmly at the feeling of closeness from the Sisters of the Hive as he answered.

"Now, me and Sophie are going to meet the rest of the family and tell them what's going on. You guys just sit tight."

"_Kyle . . ." _He smiled at the worried tone in Sam's voice.

"Don't worry, Sam. They won't hurt us." As if to prove that, one of the other Xenos softly nuzzled Kyle. Sophie purred happily as they both were embraced by the Hive.

"_Look, it's getting close to sunset, you two. It might be the best idea for you to hole up there until tomorrow. We don't know what kind of nasty things might crawl out after dark around here,"_ Mac muttered, a worried note in his voice. Sophie agreed.

"You're right, Mac. We'll see you guys tomorrow around noon," Kyle agreed as he checked his watch. Kyle could feel Sophie communicating with the others. She seemed to be asking, questioning. The feeling was one of great warmth. Kyle smiled, remembering the feeling Sophie used that described "Mother". Sophie was asking about the Mother, the Queen. The others seemed eager as they began to lead them deeper into the Hive.

XXX

Back on the _Vortex_, everyone was stunned, at the same time, relieved, awed and secretly thrilled. They had began to get worried when the images from Kyle's suit-camera began to fill with snow and get fuzzy. Though the images had been very fuzzy, they managed to make out the forms of the other Xenomorphs in the video from Kyle's camera. Sam smiled as she leaned back in her chair. Her amber eyes slid to Terry as he tapped furiously at his console.

Sam found it ironic that Terry was there with them, when his ancestor had died on the _Nostromo _centuries ago, killed by one of Sophie's kind. Then again, life is full of ironies like that. In fact, it was the fact that Terry and Mac both had an ancestor who disappeared that they had first met. At least they knew what happened to Terry's ancestor; nobody ever knew what happened to Mac's ancestor, who disappeared in Antarctica on Earth in the late Twentieth Century.

As she thought about Mac, Sam felt her cheeks warm slightly as she looked up. She blinked in shock when she saw that their captain was absent after such a momentous response from Kyle and Sophie. She stood and walked over to A-Mos, who was looking over the recorded footage from the derelict ship with Sergei.

"Have either of you seen Mac?" Sam nonchalantly queried. Sergei shook his head. A-Mos frowned slightly in thought.

"I think I saw him heading for the mess hall." Sam smiled and headed off to find Mac. As Sam was walking down the hall, she saw Seth just about to enter his quarters.

"Seth, have you seen Mac?" He turned and looked at her. Sam had always been struck by Seth's deep, ultramarine eyes. They were very beautiful, but they had a haunting, sad quality to them. Because of that, most people found it hard to keep eye-contact with him.

"No, I haven't. I did hear someone walking down the hall, towards medical. Maybe that was him." She smiled gratefully at him.

"Thanks Seth." He nodded as he entered his quarters. Just before he closed the door, Sam just barely saw the saxophone in its case on his bed. She smiled to herself. She never had figured Seth to be a musician. Then again, Seth had always been something of an enigma. With that, Sam headed for the medical lab.

The door of the medical lab was open as Sam approached. Curious, Sam peeked in. Sure enough, Mac was standing in the lab, next to the Autodoc, looking up at the screen above it, his back to the door slightly ajar.

The rotating scans were clearly of a human brain. Five in all, lined up on the screen in order. As Sam focused on the scans, she felt all the breath leave her body at what she saw.

The scans of Mac's brain showed a starfish-like tumor over his left eye, moving into the frontal-temporal-parietal-lobe. Sam felt like her heart fell straight to her feet. It was an astro-blastoma, one of the most dangerous and deadly forms of cancer known to humans. As the scans rotated, Sam saw another, larger one in the back of the brain, the lower occipital area. Sam began to tremble as she felt hot tears well up. The larger one was was barely seven centimeters from the brain stem. From her experience, as a doctor, she knew such a diagnosis would give a patient a life expectancy of less than a month.

Her vision blurred as her eyes stung with tears. She trembled from head to toe as she closed her eyes, tears running silently down her cheeks. She sagged against the door frame, feeling as if all her strength had drained from her. With a barely audible shuddering gasp, she opened her eyes. As she looked at the scan on the far-right, the latest one, she blinked.

This scan showed the tumors to be much smaller. All of a sudden, it clicked.

"_Sophie,_" she breathed with a trembling watery voice. Mac whirled at the sound. He blinked, his eyes widening in shock, startled at Sam's tear-streaked face.

"Sam? What happened? Are Kyle and Sophie all right?" Sam laughed lightly through her tears, wiping her face as she walked forward and threw her arms around Mac's neck.

"Yes. They're fine." She intertwined her fingers with his as she looked up at the scan. She looked back at Mac and smiled. "It's shrinking. It's dying." Mac looked bewildered.

"I know. The Autodoc says it's reduced by twenty percent. That's not possible," he croaked weakly, "They said nothing could be done. This can't be right, can't be possible." His brows furrowed in thought. Sam smiled as she softly cupped his cheek, staring up at him with a rich warmth in her eyes, her lashes spiked by her earlier tears.

"Neither is my walking again" Mac's eyes widened in shock as it clicked, as the pieces fell into place. He chuckled softly as he lightly shook his head. When he looked at Sam, she was looking at the medical bed. She looked at Mac and grinned. Mac grinned back at her as Sam walked over and closed and locked the door.

XXX

The Xenomorphs led Kyle and Sophie down the tunnels and corridors of the Hive, deep under the ground and the alien pyramid above. As they walked Kyle was able to see what the wet cracking noise was.

Here and there, Xenomorphs were attached to the walls, sealed in small niches with a transparent resin. They had been cocooned in a form of hibernation. As they moved along, the sealed Hive-Sisters began to hatch out of their cocoons, awakening from their long slumber. It was amazing to see. Kyle couldn't even begin to imagine how long they had slept. However, as they passed through the passages, they were saddened to find that not all of those who had gone into hibernation had survived.

There were some, still sealed in their niches, long-dead and petrified. Kyle frowned, his heart heavy at the sight. Sophie moaned sadly as she wrapped her arms around Kyle, comforting him. The others offered comfort as well. Kyle swallowed the lump in his throat as they moved on.

As they came around a corner, they saw one of the sealed Hive-Sisters, her upper body hanging out of her partially open cocoon. Kyle could feel how weak she was. Sophie hissed softly. She was dying. Without hesitation, Kyle and Sophie ran to the poor, emaciated Xeno as she hung out of her cocoon. Kyle helped to support her as Sophie broke the rest of the cocoon open, gently easing her to the floor. She was so weak, she was trembling, weak, cold and hungry. So very hungry and so very cold.

Kyle gave a start, remembering the emergency rations he had in their survival kit. That included some dried Bereba melon for Sophie. He handed the thin slice of the dried fruit to Sophie, who carefully opened her weak Hive-Sister's mouth, urging her to eat. Kyle softly stroked the weak one's face, snatching out a survival self-heating blanket and wrapping it around her as she managed to chew and swallow the dried melon.

_Don't be afraid. We'll help you. You're safe,_ Kyle comforted, sending warm feelings through his link with Sophie. As Kyle looked up at the others, he noticed that they, too, were very thin. Little more than skeletons. He frowned as he looked at Sophie. _Will she be all right?_ Sophie gave a very soft purring affirmative.

_Yes, but right now she's very weak._ Kyle frowned, worried as he looked down at the barely-living Xenomorph whose head rested against his chest. He noticed that this one was very small. She looked like she would only be seven feet standing straight up, on the very tips of her toes. The small one moaned weakly as Kyle and Sophie comforted her. He smiled softly as he gently held her against himself, adjusting the thermal survival blanket to cover her as much as possible. The other members of the Hive watched, amazed and deeply moved by Kyle and Sophie's actions.

As the Hive began to truly wake, Kyle and Sophie could feel how weak they were. Some of the others were almost as close to death as the small one they were trying to save. Kyle looked down at his pack and pulled out the rest of the Bereba melon. Kyle did not have to explain his actions to Sophie. With Sophie's help, he told them to take the thin slices and pass them around to all the rest. It might be the only thing that would keep them alive. The melon's intense protein content might be the only thing that could save the rest of the Hive-Sisters.

The Hive-Sisters were stunned, but did as they asked, taking the slices and rushing off as quickly as they could to save as many of their Sisters as they could. Kyle and Sophie stayed where they were. The small one quickly began to recover as she managed to bear her own weight and sit on all fours. Kyle smiled as he and Sophie gave warm feelings of comfort and friendship to her. The small Xeno gave a weak, warbling trill as she gently touched Kyle's face. He smiled as he felt her gratitude. They looked up as the others returned, seemingly happy.

Kyle could feel feelings of elation and joy, as well as relief and gratitude. Kyle heaved a sigh of relief at the good news. Thankfully, the ones that had hatched all lived. The other Hive-Sisters purred softly as they approached. Kyle looked at the small one, still worried. Sophie purred gently as she stroked his hair. _Don't worry, Kyle. She'll be all right. She just needs to rest. The others will look after her._

At this, several of the Hive-Sisters came forward and sat around their smaller sister, gently stroking her and purring. Kyle smiled gratefully as he stood. The small one trilled at them, expressing her gratitude at Kyle and Sophie's aid. He smiled as he sent warm thoughts back to her, glad she was alive. With the small one taken care of, Kyle and Sophie resumed their journey into the Hive.

After many twists and turns, they finally came into a very large chamber. Kyle couldn't help a soft gasp as he stared at the impossibly large cocoon that towered over them. A cocoon that reminded Kyle of an ancient, paper-thin amber sarcophagus; something from an epoch ago. Kyle noticed that there were two other Xenomorphs next to the cracking cocoon, just freshly freed from their own very ancient cocoons, but these ones were unlike any of the other Sisters Kyle had seen.

They both were much larger than the rest. One of them was much thinner, and had a slight bronze hue to her exoskeleton. That, however, was not what made her unusual. It was the fact that she had _wings_ that stunned Kyle. Great wings, like a massive bat might have. The other, much more of a blue color, from the head to the waist, was like Sophie, but instead of hips and legs, this one had a huge, long tail and nothing more. Serpentine, long and sinuous, with scale-like exoskeleton shimmering down its coils.

From what Sophie had shown him, her kind would be different, depending on what their host organism was. Kyle couldn't even imagine what creatures these two massive Guardians had been born from. As Kyle and Sophie came closer, the great cocoon cracked, what liquid that was left inside beginning to ooze out as a large hand broke through with a wet, splooshing sound. The other hand followed, tearing open the other half of the ancient cocoon. The liquid inside pooled on the floor as the cocoon was torn apart. Kyle gaped in awe and wonder at the Matriarch of the Hive.

She was huge, over thirty feet tall. Her regal crown flowed with an elegance that he had never seen before. Two smaller arms in her chest trembled as they stretched, as if horribly cramped from a time within a cocoon too long to measure by a human mind. Her larger arms flexed, the joints cracking lightly as she carefully tried moving her stiff, contracted fingers. Her face slowly emerged from her crown, the great, powerful being opening her jaws, showing her long, sharp, transparent teeth as she yawned. She looked at Kyle and Sophie. He couldn't help freezing where he stood, not in fear, but in dazed wonder and awe.

She was amazing.

Her exoskeleton was a shiny silvery-gray, her legs long and powerful. Her tail was impossibly long, waving feebly behind her. The blade on the end was longer than Kyle was tall. As he stared at the majestic, magnificent being before him, he was awestruck. Kyle had heard legends about the majesty of goddesses, realizing he understood those feeling as he stared at the being before him. As he gazed up at her, he felt as if he was not gazing at a being made of flesh and blood, but at a goddess lost somewhere in the Mists of Time. She was not just a Queen, she was so much greater then a queen.

The Great Mother made a sound that was almost a hiss, but not quite. Kyle could feel curiosity from the amazing being before them. Sophie wrapped her arms around Kyle, purring and trilling as she communicated with the Great Mother.

Since they had first began to communicate, Kyle had felt what he had termed "Block-Thought", whole ideas and concepts, even whole tracks of memory, shared in an instant through the mental bond Sophie's people shared. Kyle was amazed as Sophie shared her whole life, every single memory, with the Great Mother, and the whole of the Hive; sharing years in a few beats of a heart. Kyle blinked in a daze as images, feelings flashed and flow into his mind, out of his mind.

From the first time they met, to their escape from the labs, everything was laid bare, there were no secrets. Their first kiss, when they danced, the first time they made love, all of it Sophie shared in the span of less than a minute. Kyle was astonished. So was the Great Mother and the Hive. Kyle couldn't help being a little uneasy as the Great Mother, Mother of Mothers, Matriarch of Sophie's race, the closest thing to a Goddess the Xenomorphs knew, shifted her attention to him.

The Great Mother sensed Kyle's apprehension and cooed very softly as her mind brushed his.

He was amazed at the grandness of the mind that touched his, but also at the astonishing _gentleness_ that he felt. He could feel she was urging him to come closer. Sophie purred gently as she let Kyle walk forward as the Great Mother crouched low, her face level with his. He gave a weak, shy smile as he gazed at her.

_It's a great honor to meet you,_ he said as he knelt, his head bowed. He was surprised when he felt a soft, warm hand on his chin, raising his head to meet her gaze. Kyle stared into the eyeless face of the Great Mother. The Great Mother softly rubbed his cheek with the thumb of her smaller hand as her lips gently turned upwards into a soft smile as she gave a deep, low, resonant purr that lowered into a very deep thrum. The rest of the Hive began to thrum, too. Sophie was ecstatic as she approached.

Kyle was surprised when the Great Mother's arms softly folded around him, pulling him against her. He trembled as he was wrapped in the softest, warmest embrace he had ever felt. Physical or mental.

_Kyle . . ._ It was so soft and so gentle. Kyle felt warm tears stream down his face as the gentle warmth of the Great Mother's mind connected with his. It wasn't the lover's warmth that he felt from Sophie, it was a warmth he had all but forgotten: _A Mother's love._

Despite how close they were, how deeply they connected, Kyle still had a wound within him that even Sophie could not heal. The pain and sorrow a child feels at losing their mother is a wound that almost never heals, not truly. It had pained Sophie that her beloved, darling mate and Bonded had to carry the horrible wound within him, and she unable to do anything to heal it.

The Great Mother held Kyle tenderly against her as she thrummed, letting the full warmth of her mind flow into his, then around it, swaddling him in motherly protection. She softly stroked his hair as her feelings of maternal warmth flowed through every fiber of his being, wrapped around him and soothing every worry and fear. _Don't fear, my little one. I'm here . . ._ Kyle felt like a small child again, held tenderly by his mother as all pain and sorrow flowed away, replaced by pure, motherly tenderness and love.

Just like that, the anguish and sorrow, that even Sophie couldn't heal, was gone.

The Great Mother looked at Sophie and purred gently, opening her arms to invite her into the embrace as well. She gladly accepted, wrapping herself around Kyle as they both were wrapped in the warm embrace of the Great Mother. The great arms, both big and small, tenderly embraced her children, holding them to her as she softly settled on the floor, her tail curled around her as the rest of her children began to come forward, curling close to her as the whole of the Hive was filled with the soft, deep thrum that signified peace and happiness.

Kyle was a little surprised when he felt one of the others crawl into the Great Mother's arms with him and Sophie. He smiled. It was the small one they had saved. She purred happily as she embraced Kyle and Sophie. The Great Mother purred deeply as her children gathered around her, cuddling close. The warm feelings of love, friendship and family softly lulled Kyle and Sophie to sleep in the safest place in all the universe: Their Mother's embrace.

The next morning, Kyle and Sophie immediately went outside to radio back to the _Vortex_.

"Mac? Sam? You guys reading me?" Kyle demanded into the headset. There was a slight hiss of static.

"_Kyle, Sophie! You two all right?"_ Sam yelped, her voice holding relief. Kyle smiled.

"Yeah, but the Hive down here has been in hibernation for a long time. They're literally starving to death. We need you guys to bring as many of the Bereba melons as you can. Quick!"

"_No problem. Just give me a few minutes to load up the rover, and I'll home in on your location,"_ Seth swiftly assured Kyle. Kyle sighed with relief as he nodded to himself.

"Just be careful. We didn't see anything dangerous on the way here, but that doesn't mean it's safe."

"_Right."_

About fifteen minutes later, Kyle and Sophie could hear the sound of the rover approaching. They stood up as Seth drove up, the back of the rover crammed to capacity with vacu-crates of the melons. Seth brought the vehicle to a stop and got out.

"How are they?" Seth whispered warily. Kyle frowned lightly.

"They're still very weak. A lot of them didn't survive their hibernation," he explained as Sophie grabbed one of the boxes of Bereba melons and lifted it off the back of the rover. Seth frowned deeply at the news.

"I'll help you out. It'll go faster that way." Kyle shook his head.

"We appreciate the thought, but it's still too dangerous right now for them to meet you guys," Kyle stated firmly as he grunted with effort, lifting one of the smaller boxes and carrying it towards the entrance of the pyramid. Seth watched as Kyle and Sophie popped in and seemed to hand the boxes to someone or something hidden within the shadows. They then turned and swiftly came back to grab more crates of melons.

"What about the Queen? Is she alive?" Seth still remembered the remains of the deceased Queen they had seen in that ruined building through Kyle's suit-camera.

"She's not as weak as the others, but she's still in need of a lot of protein." Seth looked up at the huge pyramid that they were heading towards.

"What is this place?" he wondered aloud.

"The Creators' Capitol Building," Kyle replied as he helped Sophie to deliver the rest of the melons. Seth blinked with astonishment as he looked up at the pyramid, then around at the surrounding buildings and the wrecked ships that were laying everywhere.

"Guys, are you seeing all of this?" Seth hissed into his headset as he panned his suit-camera around.

"_Damn right we can,"_ Mac retorted sharply, his voice sounding both awed, and worried.

XXX

Back on the _Vortex_, everyone was watching the video from Seth's suit camera, and they were awed at the devastated city. Now that the mists had cleared, they could truly see how destroyed the ancient city was. Everywhere, buildings were crumbled, ships were crashed and broken, all manner of destruction could be seen. They also could see the levels of soil that had built up, the buildings and ships overgrown with plants. They couldn't even begin to imagine how long ago all of this had happened. Sam stared at the screen, dazed at what she was seeing.

"Jeez, look at how smashed up those buildings are," she breathed. Mac frowned deeply from the captain's chair as he studied the screen.

"This reminds me too much of Malera," his voice was distant as Seth panned the camera around to look at the destroyed buildings.

As he did, Sam caught movement. She blinked with surprise.

"Seth, pan back to the left," Sam ordered. Seth did, focusing on the movement.

"What the heck is that?" Mac muttered.

The small creature looked like the head of an old rag mop, a small bundle of tubes that was moving along the ground, making a whiffling sound. As Seth got a little closer, the creature gave a small snort and quickly bounced away in fright. Seth looked at where it had been. Sam smiled as she saw the small path carved in the lichen that was on the ground.

"It's eating the moss," Sam observed. Mac chuckled to himself, mostly with relief.

"Huh, an alien snail," Mac sounded amused. Seth panned his camera around, and they could see more of the small creatures moving around. They seemed to be very skittish, bouncing away at the slightest sound. Sam was delighted as she watched.

"It looks like there's still life on this planet," her voice was excited. A-Mos watched with the rest of them. They were a little surprised at the sound of Kyle's voice.

"_Well, they're much better. The melons already are making a world of difference,"_ Kyle informed them, his relief clear in his voice. Sam smiled.

"We're glad. How many of them survived?" Sam wondered, concerned. Kyle sighed heavily, and they could hear a sad moan from Sophie.

"_Only about thirty."_ Sam frowned. Mac sighed with sadness from his seat.

"I'm sorry, Kyle," the captain offered. Kyle smiled as he looked into Seth's suit camera.

"_We're just glad that at least some of them lived. Especially the Great Mother."_ This was met with confused murmurs.

"'Great Mother'?" Sam echoed. Kyle chuckled at that.

"_You guys will get to meet her tomorrow. They should be well enough to safely meet you then,"_ Kyle informed them, sounding excited. Mac smiled gently from where he sat.

"That's good to hear. You two just stay safe while you get to know them. Don't go anywhere by yourselves until we all meet up tomorrow," Mac advised.

"_Aye, captain,"_ Kyle replied and Sophie purred. Mac puffed some smoke as he watched Sophie and Kyle carry the rest of the melons into the pyramid.

"Seth, come on back," ordered the bearded ship captain.

"_On my way."_

XXX

As Kyle and Sophie walked back through the tunnels of the Hive, they both were elated to see the rest of Sophie's kin regaining their strength. They hungrily munched on the extremely protein-rich melons, already feeling worlds better.

Kyle smiled as he saw the small one they had saved the previous day coming up to greet them, melon juice still adorning her face. She trilled happily as she walked around Kyle on all fours. Sophie purred back, happy her Hive-Sister was stronger. As she followed, Kyle thought about how sweet and cute she was. Thinking of her demeanor, he suddenly thought of a name for her. He smiled warmly as he looked over his shoulder at her.

_How do you like the name "Lissa"?_ She trilled, excited, as she trotted behind them. He smiled wider at her returning energy. He felt the warm gratitude from Lissa and chuckled. Sophie purred as she wrapped her tail around her mate.

When they got back to the Great Mother's chamber, they both smiled happily as the Mother of the Hive ate another whole melon, relishing in the sweet, tangy taste, laden with intense protein and nutrient. She looked up as Kyle and Sophie entered, purring deeply in gratitude.

_Thank you, my children. Because of you, many of my young have survived._ Kyle couldn't help his cheeks coloring a bit at the praise of the Great Mother. To him, it was like being thanked by a Goddess. Lissa purred as she nuzzled Kyle's side.

_A heart that was kind and generous cared for others. A good heart._ Kyle looked up at the winged one, surprised, but flattered at her words. The serpentine one gave a very soft rumble of agreement.

Kyle had thought hard, and named the winged one and serpentine one Diana and Artemis, respectively. They seemed to be suiting names. From what Kyle had felt from the Hive-Memories, he knew they were sort of the "personal guard" of the Great Mother. The two were more aloof than the rest, but still friendly and trustworthy.

The Great Mother smiled as she beckoned Kyle and Sophie to her. She purred a sound deeply as they approached.

_We're glad we could help you,_ Kyle replied. Sophie purred as she wrapped her arms around her mate. The warmth from the two seemed to delight the Great Mother as she softly brushed a strand of Kyle's soft, sandy-blonde hair from his eyes.

_Such a sweet, loving child you are. Sophie has a fine mate and a wonderful Bonded One in you, Kyle._ Kyle felt his cheeks heat up even more. Sophie purred as she nuzzled him.

_Thank you, Great Mother. I'm honored by your words,_ he replied, quite abashed. The Great Mother seemed amused by his humility. Sophie smiled, purring deeply as she kissed him on the cheek.

Lissa, not about to be left out, softly shoved her head against his side as she communicated warm feelings to him, agreeing with the others. Kyle was almost overwhelmed by the feeling of warmth from not only Sophie, Lissa and the Great Mother, but from the whole of the Hive.

It was such an amazing feeling of solidarity and family. They cared about him just as much as he did them. He might have had a different form, but they considered him one of their own. He was part of their family. To Kyle, having spent so much of his life alone, it was astonishing. The Great Mother gently traced the line of Kyle's jaw, a feeling of warm, motherly tenderness flowing from her mind. Kyle sighed, closing his eyes as he softly leaned his face against the Great Mother's hand as she gently cupped his cheek.

She may not have been the one that gave birth to him, but he felt, with every fiber of his being that she was his mother. The Great Mother purred softly, low and sweet as he gazed up at her. Kyle was learning the different ways the purring sound could be made, including their very complex meanings. Kyle was amazed how, in just a fraction of a second, the Great Mother was able to communicate what would take a human pages and pages of writing, or minutes of explanation.

_Communication._

The thought suddenly hit Kyle, as he remembered a little old man, back on Berren Prime, who had taught him about ancient Chinese letters that represented whole concepts that might otherwise take pages and pages to explain. He also had taught Kyle about the Rosetta Stone, and how important it was to unraveling an unknown ancient language. Kyle blinked, bewildered, as realization hit him. _He_ was a Rosetta Stone. Without him, nobody else could communicate with Sophie's people, and there would be more misunderstandings and bloodshed.

As he thought on this, he wondered if the Bond he and Sophie had was just a fluke, almost forgetting that the Great Mother was fully aware of his thoughts. The Great Mother purred softly, reassuringly, comforting him as she gently stroked his hair.

_No,_ said the Great Mother as she showed him a Block-Thought.

XXX

When Seth got back to the _Vortex_, A-Mos was standing near the edge of the plateau, a set of binoculars in his hands as he looked down at the valley below.

"Everything all right?" Seth asked. The former soldier didn't look at Seth as the younger man approached.

"Take a look at this," A-Mos whispered as he handed Seth the digital binoculars. Seth looked through them, down into the valley at the ruined city. He focused on a large shape at the very edges of the city.

It wasn't a building. It was very long, at least a good thousand feet. Seth frowned as he zoomed in on it.

"Looks like another of their ships," Seth commented. A-Mos grunted grimly.

"Yeah, but that's not what has me worried. Take a closer look at the ground around it." Seth did as he asked. He noticed that the ground around it was completely barren, just earth. Not even a single vine or plant was anywhere near the large ship.

Seth zoomed in on where the plants and vines stopped, a good fifty feet from the edge of the ship in every direction. He stopped when he saw something white. He adjusted the focus and frowned when he saw white bones in many of the plants around the ship. A-Mos crossed his arms as he gave a soft growl. "For every living thing to stay at least fifty feet away from that ship, and there to be so many bones has me worried." Seth was about to respond, when his radio squealed in his ear.

"_Guys! Fire up the UV lights!"_ Kyle yelled excitedly over the radio. Seth looked down at the entrance of the pyramid as Kyle came out, riding on Sophie's back as if she was a horse.

"_Why? What's going on?"_ Sam yelped over the radio. Seth could almost feel Kyle's smile.

"_Just do it! Trust us!"_ replied the excited blonde. Suddenly, the external Ultra-Violet lights of the _Vortex_ snapped to life, bathing the whole area in light.

The reactions was almost instant. The whole cliff-side along the sea seemed to light up as mosses and goodness-knows-what else lit up brightly in reaction to the lights. A-Mos and Seth stared, amazed at the dazzling light show from the surrounding cliffs. The environment went from a dull, dead gray, to a bright, dazzling array of rippling blues, greens and violets in a matter of seconds.

"_Wow . . .,"_ Sam's voice echoed, sounding stunned.

"_Now there's something you don't see every day,"_ MacReady observed. Seth turned as Sophie came trotting up, Kyle on her back, both of them grinning.

"What did you guys do?" Seth demanded. Kyle smiled as he got off, Sophie standing upright.

"We're helping Mother Nature out." Seth blinked, stunned as he looked back at the illuminated cliffs. A-Mos smiled softly at the bright display.

"Really pretty, but what is all of this for?" A-Mos demanded, his white hair fluttering in a sudden soft wind. Sophie trilled as she wrapped her arms around Kyle.

"How would you guys like to see for yourselves? It's safe."

XXX

A short time later, Kyle and Sophie were leading the whole group down the path and into the valley, turning left, towards the sea. They all were amazed as they looked up at the cliffs that seemed to be alive with activity. Strange little creatures darted around on the rocks, others buzzed through the air, flittering here and there. Sam smiled hugely as she walked next to Kyle and Sophie.

"This is amazing!" Sam was filled with awe and wonder as she took in the alien life that seemed to have been awakened by their UV lights.

Along the cliff was a very strange thing. It was like a vine of some sort, but it looked like it was made from ribbed tubing, with strange swellings or knobs along it. The whole cliff seemed to be covered in it. Sam watched as a small flying creature fluttered near. It lacked legs, but had, instead, small tendrils. The beak-like mouth was long, it reminded her of a hummingbird. The small animal fluttered closer to one of the knobs, which, to everyone's surprise, opened into a wide flower about the size of a person's head, the inside a subtle green color.

As the little animal flew close, the flower snapped closed over it. Sam gasped and recoiled, her hands covering her mouth in horror. Sam's eyes darted to Kyle. Kyle smiled at her gently.

"Don't worry. It's not hurting it. Look." Kyle pointed to another bloom that opened, releasing another one of the tiny creatures, which fluttered off. Kyle walked up to the vine as it opened, releasing the little fluttering creature inside. "It's kind of like a flower and a bee is on Earth, but here, the flower also protects the bee." Kyle reached out, and the bloom moved, seeming to take notice of him. Sam gasped as the flower seemed to stretch towards his hand, turning the most beautiful bright pink color, as if it were blushing.

What was even more amazing and awe-inspiring, was the whole rest of the flowers on the vine opened and turned the same, deep pinkish-blush color, turning the whole cliff into one great canvas of pink. As Sophie neared, the vine noticed her, stretching towards her and turning a very subtle yellow color. Sophie purred as she touched the flower, which wrapped around her hand in the most delicate way. Sam gave a soft laugh as she came closer. The flower "looked" at her, turning back to the deep pink color.

Kyle smiled as he let her get closer. "Go ahead. It won't hurt you." Sam smiled as she touched the flower as it closed around her hand. It was so warm and delicate, gently pulsing with life. Sam smiled with wonder as she looked at Kyle and pulled her hand back, the flower releasing her instantly.

"This is amazing!" Kyle smiled knowingly as he nodded agreement.

"On this world, symbiotic life is the norm," Kyle stated softly, turning to lead them towards the seashore.

"Ah, so that's why the UV lights. Local lifeforms needed the light to grow and flourish," Mac observed. Kyle nodded as he looked back over his shoulder.

"That's right. Everything has been thrown all out of sync here. If we're to save Sophie's people, we have to set the natural order to rights," Kyle explained. Adding, "Or at least give it a jump start to begin repairing itself." Sergei was silent in his awe at what he was seeing, looking almost ready to faint from sheer excitement.

"This is astounding! Magnificent!" Kyle smiled and chuckled.

"Wait until you see the ocean."

As they neared the ocean, they saw a long creature with legs weave across the path ahead and upwards, onto the cliff. It almost looked like a snake with legs and eyes on long stalks. Kyle motioned at it as they walked. "That is one of the things that we needed to help out."

They watched as the creature climbed up and pulled a mouthful of the glowing moss off the cliff and climbed up and into a hole in the rock. "The moss is the food of that animal's prey, which has been disappearing, so it was preying on another creature. One that we want to protect." They all looked at Kyle as he explained the local ecosystem like he had lived in and studied it for years. Sam was about to ask, when she saw something that made her stop.

On some rocks ahead, just where the water began, she saw several creatures about the size of medium dogs on the rocks that had very familiar shapes. The heads were long, and the faces lacked eyes. Their bodies were almost skeletal. As the group neared, the creatures gave a soft screech and leaped into the water. Sophie got down on all fours, her tail in the air as she purred. Sam blinked as she walked next to Kyle, not certain of what she had seen.

"Kyle, what were those?" He smiled happily at her.

"Sophie's cousins." Sam's eyes widened, startled. Kyle pointed towards the ocean as the gentle sound of waves was heard.

As they came to the seashore, they were struck by how similar, yet how alien it was to what they knew back home. The silvery sands and grayish waves had a striking beauty, complimented by the glowing moss, that went down right into the water and below. Under the water Sam could see creatures that looked like a cross between a starfish and a lobster that were feeding on the moss with some ravenous appetites.

They were surprised when Sophie trilled loudly and excitedly. They turned as she approached another odd creature that was pulling itself up out of the water and onto the shore a little down the beach. Kyle smiled as he approached where his mate was, her tail waving excitedly in the air as she purred deeply. Sam gasped in amazement as she stared at the creature.

It was a brownish-gray color, and reminded her of a manatee, but it most certainly wasn't.

It was partially transparent, some of the rudimentary skeleton and organs visible through its skin. Large, innocent-looking liquid-gold eyes stared at them from a face that looked, oddly, almost human.

"Kyle, what is this?" Sam whispered as Sophie continued to purr. Kyle smiled as he looked at Sam.

"This, Sam, is the key to saving Sophie's people and setting things right here." He smiled as the timid creature carefully whiffled, as if to smell Sophie. "Take a good look at its chest." Sam looked at the organs in the chest. She noticed that the creature only had four ribs. Her eyes widened as she saw a familiar, coiled shape in the chest, next to the beating heart. Sam's eyes grew wide as she looked at Kyle, excited as her face broke into a huge smile.

"They're Sophie's natural hosts!" Sam exclaimed as comprehension dawned on her scientific mind. Kyle smiled and nodded as Sophie purred deeply.

**Author's note:** Much credit goes, once again to my Mom, who has been an unending source of help and inspiration. Her medical knowledge has been helpful again and again, as has her keen eye for detail. All credit for anything related to medicine or the human body goes to my Mom, a former Registered Nurse.

Credit also goes to her on the ideas of what the environment and ecosystem of the Xenomorph home planet might be like. The concept of the world being based on symbiotic life was her idea, as was the idea of what the Xenomorphs' original host might be like. She also was my inspiration for the Great Mother. So, since it's Mother's Day, please give your Mom a hug. You wouldn't be here if not for her.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

The next day, everyone was gathered around the table in the mess hall of the _Vortex_ to discuss the changes in the environment. As Sophie sat next to Kyle, her tail wrapped lovingly around his waist, she looked at Sam and purred. Kyle couldn't help a smile. Through his link with Sophie, he knew MacReady's scent was heavy on Sam, and vice-versa. Sophie purred more deeply as she slid her arm around her mate's shoulders.

A-Mos placed a cube in the center of the table, which glowed as a holographic image flared above the table showing aerial footage of the valley and surrounding area taken by the small aero-probes ordered sent out by MacReady.

The images showed almost the whole of the coastline was alive with activity, the mosses and lichen glowing strongly. Sam, in particular, was fascinated by the local ecosystem.

"This is amazing! I've never seen anything like it before!" Sergei nodded as he sipped his tea through his mustache.

"I concur. I've never seen an ecosystem that is based almost entirely around symbiotic life," grinned the linguist as he watched the video the probes had taken of the coastline.

After they had seen the return of life to the coast, they had retreated to the _Vortex_ to rest, regroup and not cause any damage to an already-fragile ecosystem. It presented them with a fascinating opportunity to observe the life of Sophie's home world without disturbing it. They also were able to see the creatures that Kyle had said were Sophie's "cousins", lounging on rocks, sunning themselves, or swimming in groups.

Sam watched as a group of them swam around one of the mantee-like creatures, which Sam had named "Mer-Gels". She smiled as she looked at Kyle and Sophie.

"So, Kyle, are these little ones a subspecies of Sophie's kind?" Sam asked. Kyle sighed sadly as he watched the images, a light frown on his face.

"Yes and no." The others looked at him as Sophie gave a soft moan, wrapping her arms around her mate. Kyle looked at the group as he spoke. "They _are_ Sophie's kind. Or, rather Sophie's kind as they naturally were, once upon a time." Seth sighed from his place, leaning against a wall.

"So, the Creators changed Sophie's people into what they are now," he harshly stated. Kyle nodded. The group was surprised at this. MacReady grunted as he rubbed his beard.

"It's all starting to make sense. The pieces are coming together." Mac brought out his pipe, but returned it to his jacket instead of lighting it. A-Mos crossed his arms as he watched Sophie's natural relatives swimming gracefully alongside the Mer-Gel.

"So, they turned Sophie's people into weapons for war." The former soldier's tone was filled with sympathy for Sophie's people. Terry frowned as he looked at A-Mos.

"But that begs the question: Why?" A-Mos sighed tolerantly as he looked at the tech.

"Probably because they could," replied A-Mos.

As the group murmured amongst themselves, Sergei noticed something on the video from the probe.

"What a minute, what was that?" A-Mos backed the video up as the probe flew over one of the higher cliffs.

There, carved into the rock of the cliff, was a statue, but not a statue of any creature they had seen yet. It wasn't the Creators, but a creature with four arms and two legs, standing upright, holding a staff and dressed in robes. The head was almost diamond-shaped. The statue was very weathered and old, the features almost completely smoothed away by weather and time, if there ever were any. Mac grunted in surprise as they watched the probe pass by several such statues in the cliff.

"The Creators weren't the only race to inhabit this planet," said the captain. He looked to Kyle for an answer. "Anything in Sophie's Hive Memories about them?" Kyle frowned and shook his head.

"It must have been from so long ago, even Hive Memories don't recall them," Kyle replied. Sergei smiled as he watched, looking ready to burst with excitement.

"This is amazing. An ancient, extinct alien culture. The Creators must have built their civilization over the ruins of this older culture that preceded them. Fantastic! I would love to climb those cliffs to study those statues!" Mac chuckled lightly, shaking his head slowly.

"I thought you were a linguist, not an archeologist," quipped MacReady. Sergei smiled at him.

"Yes, but the study of archeology and ancient languages often go hand-in-hand."

A-Mos sighed softly as the probes flew back over the valley and the remains of the Creators' city, displaying the devastation, however ancient, for all of them to see.

The massive U-shaped ships were laying where they had crashed, thousands of years ago.

Some were still relatively whole, others were in pieces. Some were overgrown with plants and vines.

One of them was covered in the "rainbow-vines" that sheltered small creatures, turning the whole surface of the ship a bright emerald green. The gaze of the former soldier sharpened as the probes flew low over the very large ship at the edge of the city, displaying the barren ground around it, and the small piles of bones at the very edges of the plants around the barren field.

"This thing has me worried. Since the ground around it is barren on all sides, and there is a good number of bones has me thinking of radiation," muttered A-Mos darkly, his face grave.

"Even worse than radiation," said Kyle. They looked at him as Sophie hissed softly. Kyle sighed as he looked at the gargantuan ship on the hologram. "The Creators' ships were somehow partially alive. How, I don't know. But, something they made, another one of their creations, got loose and infested that ship and turned it into one giant, living creature. And a hungry one at that."

They all listened, silent as Kyle looked back into the Hive Memories that the Great Mother had shared with them. "Sophie's people came to call it "The Devourer". That whole ship would eat anything that ventured inside it, or too close," Kyle's voice was filled with unease. Sam stared at Kyle, her eyes wide in horror.

"Even . . . Sophie's kind?" Kyle looked at her.

"_Anything,_" Kyle replied. Sam swallowed. A-Mos growled as he looked at the massive, living ship that sat at the edge of the city.

"How fitting they ended up getting eaten by the very thing they created to be a weapon," snapped Seth, a small, grim smile adorning his face. Mac shook his head at all of this.

"It makes me wonder what the hell happened here." Mac looked at Kyle, who shook his head.

"From what I've seen in the Hive Memories, the Creators seemed to be fighting amongst themselves. Why, I have no idea." Sophie purred softly as she stroked Kyle's hair. Sergei looked at the hologram, and the image of the large, central pyramid that Sophie's kind had claimed as their own. The Creators' capital building.

"Well, if we'll find any answers, it'll be in there," chirped the linguist, obviously itching with excitement at the prospect of exploring. MacReady looked at Kyle as the video stopped and the hologram vanished.

"Well, is it safe to poke around the inside of the pyramid?" Mac queried, his eyes locked on Kyle and Sophie for answers. Kyle smiled softly and nodded.

"Yes. The Great Mother and her children sealed themselves in when the fighting was still going on. It was one of the few places that was safe." Victor smiled at this, adjusting his sunglasses.

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go meet mama."

XXX

Kyle and Sophie led the group into the depths of the pyramid, the darkness close around them, despite their flashlights. They were excited, but nervous as they ventured further into the pyramid. The architecture reminded them of the inside of the derelict ship they had been in on HS-90, the walls having that same ribbed look to them. The Creators' pyramid had a distinctive eerie, haunted feeling to it. It made the whole group uneasy as they ventured deeper into the pyramid, following Kyle and Sophie, who were on Point. When they entered the hive, Kyle smiled faintly as he looked back at them.

"This is the hive. This is home. Don't be afraid if some of the others touch you or smell you. They won't hurt you," Kyle comforted as they ventured into the hive. Hugo shined his light on the walls, looking at the resin that covered it.

"How can they smell when they don't have noses?" Hugo wondered aloud.

"With their tongues," Kyle replied as they followed the tunnels. The group was a little startled when they heard a trill. They looked forward as another of Sophie's kind came trotting up, seeming excited by their return. Kyle chuckled as the smaller Xenomorph rubbed her head against his waist.

"Everyone, we'd like you to meet Lissa," he chuckled as Lissa purred. Sam tried not to be nervous as Lissa turned her attention to her.

"Hi, Lissa. It's nice to meet you," Sam greeted as the smaller Xeno came closer. Lissa purred softly as she stood up and gazed at Sam, their faces inches apart. Sam smiled as Lissa gently stroked her hair, trilling softly. All of the introductions went like that. Lissa was almost twitching with excitement to meet these new friends, purring and weaving around and between them, almost like a cat, as they walked further into the hive.

Of all the crew, Seth seemed to be the least nervous to meet Sophie's relatives. Lissa seemed to pick up on this, purring and weaving around him as he walked at the rear of the group. As they passed through the tunnels and passageways of the hive, they saw the others, hard at work repairing, restoring and rebuilding damaged sections of the resin. The busy Xenomorphs acknowledged the passing group with friendly purrs, trills and soft singsong hisses.

They were awed as they entered the Great Mother's chamber, and the grand, amazing being that occupied it. The Great Mother purred deeply from where she was resting on the silk her children had woven and laid down on the floor for her, Diana and Artemis standing on either side of her. A few of her children were climbing on the ceiling, applying more resin to the cracked sections and shoring up others. Kyle smiled as he turned back to the group.

"Everyone, this is the Great Mother," he introduced her as Sophie purred deeply, her tail weaving happily. Sam couldn't help a soft gasp as she gazed at the Great Mother.

"She's _beautiful,_" Sam's voice was filled with awe. Kyle smiled as he introduced his friends, who all gave a polite bow of the head. The Great Mother gave a low, deep, rumbling purr of acknowledgment to each of them in turn. Once the introductions were finished, Mac turned to Kyle.

"Kyle, we know the Creators were fighting among themselves, can you ask her if she knows why?" Kyle smiled at MacReady.

"Ask her yourself, she understands you," Kyle replied. Mac blinked as the Great Mother looked at him and purred, seeming amused. Kyle gave a soft sigh as he sat, Sophie sitting behind him, her arms around him and her tail draped across his lap. "She says that the bigger ones, and the smaller gray ones were fighting each other. Why, exactly, they don't know." Mac and the others sat near Kyle and Sophie as the Great Mother gave a deep rumble, which Diana and Artemis echoed. "In the fighting, they began to unleash their own weapons on each other. One of which was Sophie's people."

The whole group sat in silence, listening, as Kyle recounted the events that had transpired so long ago.

"And on that note," Kyle fixed the group with a serious look. "The Great Mother said not to go anywhere near any of the downed ships. They might still have some of the Creators' weapons alive on board, in hibernation or dormant, waiting for something to disturb them." A-Mos growled at that.

"I was afraid of that," muttered the old soldier. Mac rubbed his beard, looking thoughtful.

"Do they have any theories why they started fighting?" demanded Mac, rubbing his shaggy jaw. Kyle frowned ever so slightly as the Great Mother gave a low, keening moan, as if in pain. Kyle sighed as he closed his eyes, shuddering himself at what slithered into his mind, Sophie give a soft moan as she pulled her mate into her lap and nuzzled him.

"The Great Mother is pretty sure the Life-Jelly had something to do with it." Sam blinked in confusion at Kyle's answer.

"Why would their Royal-Jelly be behind the Creators fighting?" Sam whispered as she tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear, yet she already _knew_ the answer. The Great Mother moaned, as did Diana and Artemis.

"Because, Sam, they were forcing the Mothers to produce Cradles with new Mothers in them, so the Creators could suction out the Life-Jelly from the fresh Cradles and use it themselves." Sam stared at Kyle in shock as the image formed itself in her head. Nausea swirled through her belly, she bowed her head, sickened by what this meant, what Sam _knew it meant._ Mac blew out as he looked at the Great Mother as she gave a low moan.

"So, they were harvesting the Royal-Jelly from them." Mac looked back at Kyle, understanding and sympathy on the older man's face. "The little Queens didn't survive, did they?" Kyle's face was ashen, tight and strained, shaking his head as Sophie keened softly with sorrow.

"That's awful!" Terry cried, aghast at what he was hearing. A-Mos gently placed his mechanical hand on Terry's arm, to keep Terry from leaping up to his feet.

Sam looked at the Great Mother, the anguish written across her features. "Did any of the Cradles survive?" Sam pleaded. They were surprised when the Great Mother smiled softly, a deep, purring trill echoing from her and around the chamber, which her children responded to by repeating the same tonal sound. Kyle smiled wider as Sophie purred and nuzzled him.

"Thankfully, yes. A good number of Cradles are safe and sealed in the hive. They just want to make sure it's safe outside before they take them down to the beach and let them Bond to the Mer-Gels. Then, the symbiotic cycle will, hopefully, begin to repair itself." There were happy, relieved murmurs from the group at the wonderful news. The Great Mother purred from where she was laying, her tail happily waving at the prospect of the birth of a new generation of her children. Kyle and Sophie didn't fail to notice Sam gently squeeze MacReady's hand as she smiled.

"I'm so glad. The Creators should never have interfered with nature in the first place," Sam spat as she looked at the Great Mother, who looked at her and purred, seeming happy at her words.

Victor looked thoughtful, and scratched his head as he frowned.

"So, they were using the Queens like cows for this jelly. What were they using it for?" Victor mumbled. Kyle's brows furrowed as he seemed in thought. They knew he was communicating with the Great Mother.

"It was only the larger ones that were using it, and they seemed to be using it like we would vitamin supplements." Sam was about to ask Kyle another question when Kyle held his hand up, looking at the Great Mother as she gently crooned. Kyle's eyebrows raised lightly. He looked back at the group. "She said that the Creators had a science room in this building. We might be able to find more answers there, from the Creators themselves." Sergei almost leaped up, excited.

"A marvelous idea! I'm positive I can translate their documents," Sergei almost crowed, he was that excited. Sophie purred as she got to her feet. Mac grunted softly as he helped Sam to her feet.

He looked at Kyle and Sophie, his gaze enigmatic.

"Lead the way."

XXX

Kyle and Sophie led the group back the way they came, out of the hive and back into the abandoned hallways of the pyramid, following the directions in the Hive Memories the Great Mother had shared with him. The long, round, ribbed hallways had a very eerie feeling to them as they walked along. There was something very disquieting about walking through those hallways, knowing there had been so much fighting there. Indeed, there was still some evidence to be seen of the fights that had occurred so long ago. Some burns on the walls, chunks taken out of the ribs or arches on the walls.

As they rounded a corner, they stopped when they saw a large mass of something laying in a heap to the side of the hall. A-Mos kept his rifle on the thing as they neared. From the layers of dust, it was obvious that the thing had been still for a considerable length of time. Sophie snarled at the thing, her tail lashing in anger. It looked almost like some sort of mechanical tarantula, but with only six legs.

There were many burns of several types on it, one of the legs almost completely detached. Mac looked at the mess of wires, tubes and other bizarre alien mechanics, then up at Kyle.

"Kyle, what is this thing?" Mac snapped. Sophie hissed as she slid her arms protectively around her mate. Kyle gave a soft groan as he looked the ruined hulk over.

"It was one of their war machines. Kind of like combat-androids are to us." Kyle looked at MacReady. "This was a Mother-Killer." Sophie hissed harder at this, baring her teeth, a hint of drool dripping from her jaws. A-Mos kept his distance from the alien combat-mech, never taking his aim from it.

"Are there any more of these things?" A-Mos demanded, his voice low and wary. Kyle sighed and shook his head.

"No, they were destroyed either by Sophie's people, or the Creators." This brought a round of relieved sighs from the group. Seth crouched near the machine, looking at what could be seen of the underside.

"A good thing, too. Just looking at this thing, I can already see it was armed to the teeth," Seth growled softly, gesturing to the tubes on the underside of the chassis. The group continued on, observing still more damage from fights from thousands of years ago.

As they passed through a particularly damaged hall, Sergei noticed something on the wall.

"Huh, what's this?" Sergei wondered aloud as he investigated something on the wall. Mac walked up behind him as Sergei brought up his datapad and began to type.

"Found something?" MacReady murmured low, uneasy in this corridor. Sergei nodded as he mumbled in some alien language.

"This would appear to be an interface panel of some sort. Now, let's see . . .," Sergei began murmuring in different languages as he focused on translating the alien text. As Sergei translated, A-Mos shined his flashlight around the hallway, taking note of the numerous burns and scorches on the walls and on the floor.

"Definitely a firefight here. And a pretty intense one by the look of it," muttered the former soldier.

"We'll know shortly. I think I can activate their security cameras," Sergei said as he touched the marks of the panel in sequence. They all were surprised when the hallway suddenly flashed, and the room erupted into the chaotic sounds of battle as the hologram of the ancient battle played around them.

A group of the golden Creators were shooting at a group of the smaller gray ones. A few of the gray ones were laying dead by their comrades as the firefight raged through the hall, blasts of energy flying from their weapons as the sides exchanged fire. Here and there, resin smoked, slagged, burst into flames, scorch marks streaked down the walls and floors. They watched as a blast of energy from one of the Creators' rifles hit the helmet of one of the gray ones, knocking it to the floor. Through the hole burned in the helmet, they could see the face of the being underneath, and it was similar, but different from the face of the Creator they had seen back on HS-90.

The skin was very pale, almost pure white. Unlike the Creators, this being lacked hair, not even eyebrows or eyelashes, the eyes were dark. They watched as another of the blue energy bolts flew and hit the arm of one of the gray ones, searing it off just below the elbow. There was very little blood.

"He's down for the count!" quipped Hugo as they watched the wounded being stumble backwards. Seth frowned as he watched the holographic battle.

"Don't be so sure," Seth growled as the gray being picked up its weapon with its other hand, stood back up and resumed fighting. They were startled to see several such events happen, as arms and even legs were blown off, only for the wounded fighters to brace themselves against a wall, almost as if they didn't feel the pain, and continue to fight.

"Jeez, what the hell are they on?!" Mac shouted over the noise as the Creators, the golden ones, seemed to gain the upper hand, pushing forward and downing more of their foes. The group of golden giants pressed forward, firing and shouting as they dropped more and more of their enemies, until only one was moving, crawling across the floor for a fallen energy rifle. One of the Creators stepped on the back of the fallen gray one, stopping its movement as the Creator grasped a thin wand at its side, bringing the wand down onto the gray one's head like a knife.

They were startled when the head, and most of the upper body of the gray being, was reduced to nothing but ash in a millisecond. Just like that, the fight was over. The Creator stood and looked at its allies and spoke in its alien language. They nodded and picked up the weapons from their fallen enemies before leaving as the hologram faded away.

The group was stunned at what they had just witnessed.

"Whoa . . .," Hugo breathed, speechless. A-Mos frowned as he looked at the blast-marks around the hall.

"Looks like they were trying to stop the advance of the gray ones," A-Mos commented as he looked up and down the hall. MacReady frowned, hands on his hips as he grunted softly.

"It's about time we got some answers," Mac looked at Kyle. Sophie was softly growling, her arms and tail wrapped protectively around her mate. "Let's find out what went on here." Kyle nodded as he and Sophie turned and led them further into the hallways.

As they turned a corner, they saw a doorway that was covered with the resin Sophie's kind used to make their hives. Mac stopped near it, looking over the shapes. He looked at Kyle and Sophie, a light frown on his face. "What's with this?" asked Mac, touching the dry, cracked resin. Sophie gave a very soft growl at this.

"That was one of the rooms the Creators stored their weapons in," Kyle explained. The group looked surprised. A-Mos chuckled with amusement.

"Great idea. Keep the enemy from rearming, and you strip them of any advantage," A-Mos smiled his approval as he slung his rifle. Kyle smiled and nodded.

"They did that with some of the other rooms, too. The science room included. We'll have to break through the resin to get in," Kyle informed. With that, Kyle and Sophie turned and led the group further down the halls, passing several more rooms blocked by resin. Finally, Kyle and Sophie stopped by one door that was covered with resin. Kyle motioned towards the door. "This is it," he said as they looked it over. A-Mos had been about to step forward, when Sophie gave a soft hiss and began to rip off pieces of the resin, tossing it behind her in a pile against the far wall.

In the span of a few short minutes, she managed to pull enough of the resin off for the door to open. Sergei walked over and pressed several symbols on the control panel next to the door. The door slid upwards into the ceiling, revealing a dark room. They shined their flashlight around the room, the light landing on strange things and shapes. Sergei mumbled as he pressed more symbols on the control panel, and the room gradually lit up, revealing the room in full.

There were several tall tubes, filled with liquid, running from floor to ceiling. In most of the tubes, was a preserved creature. Preserved creatures, floating in clear liquid. Some they recognized, some they didn't.

"Fascinating," said Sergei as he looked at one of the preserved creatures. Sam was struck by one tube in particular.

The creature inside was humanoid in form. The legs and arms all were webbed with delicate, transparent skin. The whole body was covered in very fine, iridescent scales, that shimmered in beautiful golds, blues and greens. The creature inside was so well preserved, it almost looked like it was still alive. Sam blinked as her eyes burned with tears, awed by the beautiful creature, yet stricken by grief at its death.

"It's so beautiful. We haven't seen one of these," Sam croaked as she gently touched the glass.

"Actually, we did," Kyle said from where he was. Sam looked at him as Sophie moaned sadly, wrapping her arms and tail around Kyle. "This is the adult form of the Mer-Gel." Sam looked back at the creature, and noticed the liquid-gold eyes. Kyle sighed and smiled sadly as Sophie stroked his hair.

"You see, after they Bond to one of Sophie's kind, they undergo a metamorphosis, kind of like a butterfly." Sam looked at Kyle, stunned.

"So, without Sophie's kind, they can't reach maturity?" she gasped, stunned. Kyle slowly nodded his head.

"They need each other to survive. If one dies out, so does the other." The group was silent at that. Mac sighed and shook his head at all of it.

"Such a damn waste," Mac murmured. A-Mos nodded.

"War always is," agreed the former soldier. Sergei looked at another panel and brought up his datapad and began to translate, tapping symbols as he did.

"There were more cameras in here. Let me see what I can bring up . . .," Sergei trailed off as he typed in commands, lost once again in translating alien glyphs.

The room hissed with holographic static for a brief moment before revealing two of the tall, golden giants, the Creators, standing in the room without their helmets. They could see that these two had longer hair that the others they had seen, with their wavy, golden locks reaching almost to their shoulders. One of them walked over and sat in a large chair, next to one of the consoles. The other stood next to the tube that held the adult Mer-Gel. The Creator reached a hand up and gently touched the glass, the same way Sam had.

The group was surprised when a tear rolled down the golden being's face as he stared at the beautiful being in the tube. The Creator said something in his native language, his voice quivering. He looked back at his companion, who sat in the chair, his back hunched. The one in the chair had a long mustache framing his lips. It reminded them of the mustaches the Celts wore back home on Zerichs II. The clean-shaven Creator said something to his companion, who only frowned and shook his head, sorrow clear on his face. With one final, sorrowful look, the younger Creator turned and walked away from the tube, over to the panel Sergei now stood at, touching the panel, and the hologram vanished.

Seth looked at Sergei, who bore a sad, serious expression on his face.

"What did he say?" Seth pleaded. Sergei sighed as he looked at the Mer-Gel in the tube.

"_'How could we be so cruel?'_." The group was surprised at this. Of all the things they had expected the Creators to say, that had been what they had been least expecting. Even Sophie looked surprised. Sam frowned as she looked at the tubes, and the specimens within, then back to Sergei

"Sergei, was there anything else?" Sam queried, her eyes suddenly intense. The linguist frowned lightly as he tapped symbols, bringing up a row of glowing, alien text.

"Um, yes. It looks like some medical scans, from the looks of it." Sam's ears perked up at that.

"Show me," Sam muttered as she walked forward. Sergei tapped the appropriate symbols and brought up the information. The group stared at the floating images of what looked like human brains.

Some were gold, others were gray. Sam reached up and touched one of the gray brains, surprised when it suddenly enlarged, displaying the scan in greater detail. Sam stared at the scan, shocked awe written across her face. Sophie hissed, sensing Sam's distress. Kyle stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Sam? What's the matter?" Sam didn't answer at first, as she tapped the scan again, enlarging it again.

"Oh, my god . . .," Sam's voice was barely above a squeaked whisper. MacReady gently shook her.

"Sam, what's going on?" Mac snapped, worry clear in his voice. Sam looked up at him with wide, incredulous eyes.

"The limbic system. It's almost gone," Sam sounded unable to believe what she was saying. Victor scratched his head, looking confused.

"Um, I'm a little slow, Doc. Could you dumb that down for me a bit?" asked the mechanic. Sam pointed to near the center of the brain, below the ventricles.

"This is the limbic system. The part we're concerned with, here, controls emotions." The area she indicated was flattened, as if stunted or shriveled. She looked at the group, her face grave, her eyes wide with the shock of what she was seeing on the scans.. "This is the brain of a _psychopath_. They have no emotions. No pity, no remorse, no fear and . . . ? _No guilt, no conscience_." A-Mos growled as he crossed his arms.

"The perfect soldier," huffed the former soldier. As they took in this information, Sam tapped one of the golden brains, enlarging and displaying it.

"But this one, the limbic system is even more developed than a human one is," Sam declared. Seth's eyes widened as he looked at the floating, rotating image.

"Wait, if the golden scans are from the larger ones, and the gray ones are the smaller ones, that means that the Royal-Jelly stimulated the limbic system to heal. Which means . . .," Seth trailed off, almost not believing his own words. Sam frowned as she nodded.

"Yes. They deliberately removed emotions from themselves." There were more than a few startled murmurs at this. Sam stared at the rotating scan of the brain of one of the Creators. "The Royal-Jelly restoring their limbic system was likely an unexpected side-effect." Mac sighed as he rubbed his beard.

"It all makes sense, now," said the bearded captain as he began to pace, every now and again, uneasily eying those scans. "The golden ones, the Creators, engineered emotions out of themselves, and the smaller ones, who I'm guessing are like servants or soldiers. When they accidentally regained emotions, they were disgusted with what they'd done and created, and turned on their former servants," Mac said as he looked at the Mer-Gel in the tube, then back at the group. "And we've seen the rest." The group was silent at this revelation, a few looking rather sickened. Sophie hissed softly, her tail fluttering in her agitation.

Sergei looked through some of the other information, and stopped, his eyes wide.

"That's not the only thing," Sergei hissed as he turned to the others, pointing at the displayed scan. "Take a look at this." They looked, and were surprised when they saw a familiar shape in the medical scan. Next to one of the Creators, it was too small even to be one of the Servants. Sam blinked, almost unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

"That's a human," Sam gasped, horrified. Sergei frowned as he looked at his datapad.

"Yes, but according to the translation, it's labeled as ' _an experiment_'." Sergei's eyes slid to lock with Mac's own, adding hoarsely, "Cap'un, there are _thousands_ of . . .," Sergei had to pause, lick his lips, try to speak again as his mouth lost moisture, "_experiments like this one."_

Silence.

Stunned, horrified, comprehensive silence was all that answered Sergei's revelation.

**Author's note:** Thanks goes to my mother for her medical knowledge, as well as helping me sit and plan out a chapter that was already complicated.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

The room was dark, sealed away from light long ago, silent as a grave. Nothing moved, nor stirred, nor had anything for an eon or more.

The silence and darkness, for the first time in thousands of years, was broken as panels stirred to life. Light softly glowed as holograms flickered into existence, their light softly reflected in the shiny eyes of a pair of helmets, sitting where their long-dead owners had left them an epoch ago.

These helmets, though, were unlike those a human would make or wear. Almost skeletal, with a nose on the front, to which was once attached an air-hose. These silent sentinels watched as the holograms flickered and danced, panels lighting and dimming as information was displayed.

There was a hiss of static as the holograms changed, displaying a fuzzy, white object, seeming to move towards a camera. The static hissed again, harsher, and garbled voices echoed:

" _. . .Ich habe gerade . . . Energie-Welle . . . fremden Planeten . . ." _

"_Gehen. Beginnen . . . Landevorgangs . . ."_ As the long object moved closer, the hologram displayed a white circle on the side, inside the circle was a bent, black cross.

XXX

The bare hand gently touched the long strand of hard resin, curious. Another hand felt the other side of the resin, feeling the texture of the substance. The first hand tapped the resin, lightly jerking away as it felt the vibrations that traveled through the alien substance.

Sam stared at the resin, awed.

"It's vibrating." She looked up from where she knelt at Kyle and Sophie, who both smiled. Sophie bobbed her head in a nod. Sam returned her attention to the resin as she studied it.

After the unsettling things they had discovered in the Creators' science room, they were more than glad to just explore the hallways of the pyramid. Seth touched the vibrating resin as Lissa nuzzled his side. He smiled as he looked at Kyle and Sophie.

"It's like a spider's web. It's acting like an alarm," he said in realization as Sophie trilled. Kyle nodded.

"Yes. But that's only one of its functions. It also is an insulation, camouflage, barrier and so many other uses." Sophie purred as she wrapped her arms around Kyle, softly nuzzling him. "It also can work as a bandage." Sophie gave a soft whine as she cuddled her beloved mate against her, stroking his soft hair. "When we were attacked by Serrex, back home, she used resin and Life-Jelly to bandage my leg up," he explained as Sophie placed a soft, gentle kiss on his cheek.

Sam smiled at both the information, and the cute display. A-Mos looked up at the patches of resin that lined the wall and part of the ceiling.

"Looks like it helps to conduct sounds, with those holes and wedges in it," A-Mos observed.

"And scents, too," Kyle added as Terry tapped the resin himself.

"Neat. Like a telegraph," said the tech. Strangely enough, the group of humans felt safer where there was resin than in the bare hallways. MacReady smiled as he leaned against a wall, his arms crossed. Sergei was studying his datapad, the information he had managed to transfer.

"This all is very fascinating, but very unsettling, to say the least," Sergei mumbled as he read the alien text. Victor and Hugo were looking at one of the control panels for a door, destroyed in a fight long ago.

"Say, anybody else notice that there's no broads here?" Victor asked. Sam slowly turned her head, her eyes narrowed.

"You do remember that Sophie's kind are all female, right?" she growled. Hugo looked at her.

"I mean Creator chicks. All the ones we've seen look like guys," Hugo stated. MacReady looked at his mechanics and grinned.

"How do you know they _are_ male?" he joked. The two jokers shivered at the thought and Mac gave a soft laugh, as did A-Mos. Seth sighed from where he stood, looking thoughtful.

"I've been thinking on that, and I have a theory," Seth said in his usual, cool tone. They all looked at him. "Humans were an experiment of theirs. Stands to reason that they may have somehow wiped all their females out." This was met with a few confused murmurs. Terry scratched his head as he spoke.

"Um, what would humans have to do with that?" Terry asked. Sam sighed as she stood up.

"I think Seth is right." She looked at the group. "The limbic system also controls mating urges. They might also have lost the urge to mate, and, as such, either their females died out, or were no longer of use, and were . . . disposed of." This shocked everyone.

"Uh, then how would they-?" Terry began, then stopped, not sure if he wanted to ask. Seth looked at him with his piercing blue eyes.

"Human egg cells," Seth bluntly stated. "They likely were using human egg cells to breed their own race without the need for females." Sam frowned deeply as she nodded.

"It makes sense. I doubt that's the sole reason they made us, but it's likely one of the major ones," Sam said, sighing as she brushed a strand of raven-black hair from her face.

As they discussed the details, Terry looked at another door that was covered in resin. He ran his hand over the resin as he looked at the control panel next to it.

"Hey, what's in here?" he asked. The others looked at him and the door. Kyle put his hands on his hips as he approached.

"Not sure, but it was someplace they wanted to make sure the Creators couldn't get into," replied Kyle as Sophie gave a soft, curious hiss. Sophie and Lissa pulled the resin away until the door was clear. Sergei tapped the symbols on the control panel and the door slid open.

The air inside was stale, old. The smell of ghosts. As Sergei tapped the panel, the lights slowly came on, revealing the grand scale of the room they were in. It was huge, as big as the bridge of the derelict ship on HS-90. Large cylinders stood from the floor, consoles of some type. A pair of Creator helmets sat where they had been placed, thousands of years ago, their shiny, dark eyes staring lifelessly.

"Whoa, what is this place?" Victor wondered aloud as he stared at the bizarre alien machinery.

"My best guess is some kind of security room or something of that sort," Mac said as he looked at the side of one of the cylinders, and the array of soft, egg-shaped buttons on the side. Sergei looked even more excited as he looked around.

"I think he's right! These look like holographic projectors," murmured the linguist as he looked over one of them. A few of the consoles looked like they had been damaged, the sides broken open and wires and optic fibers laying where they had been pulled out. Oddly, the room didn't look like it had sustained any damage from fighting. Sergei smiled as he sat in one of the oversized chairs and began to translate and type in the alien script. Holograms shimmered into existence as Sergei typed in commands, mumbling and translating as he went.

The giant hologram in the middle of the room showed the pyramid in amazing detail. As Sergei typed, the hologram turned transparent and showed the structure of the pyramid. Hugo blinked as he looked at the image.

"That's a map," observed the mechanic. Sergei nodded.

"Absolutely correct. This isn't just a security room: it's the control room for the whole pyramid," said the linguist. Everyone stared in awe as they saw just how big the pyramid actually was.

Sergei smiled as he stood and walked over to point at the holographic map. "See these red markers? That's us." They looked at the small red dots. Seth looked closer, his eyes narrowing as he saw other dots, green ones, here and there in the pyramid. When he saw one of the green dots was in the room with them, he realized what they were.

"And the green dots are Sophie's people," he said with a soft smile. Sergei nodded. They noticed, watching the map, that the rest of the Xenomorphs seemed to be leaving the pyramid. Sam looked at Kyle and Sophie.

"Kyle, why are they leaving?" Sam asked. Kyle smiled and Sophie purred gently.

"Don't worry, they're just going out to explore the city and see how it's changed since they've been hibernating," Kyle comforted. Seth was still looking at the holographic map of the pyramid.

"This even shows the areas where the resin is. Even the main hive." They all looked where Seth pointed. Sure enough, under ground level, it clearly displayed the hive, the Great Mother showing as a large, green dot on the map. What got their attention, was a room behind the Great Mother's chamber, filled with so many small green dots, it made the whole room green.

"That must be where the Cradles are stored," Sam said as she smiled. Sophie purred as she nuzzled Kyle happily. Kyle was all smiles as he looked at Sam.

"Yes. They're all safe. When the others outside are sure it's safe, they'll open up the nursery and take some of them down to the beach to Bond to the Mer-Gels." This brought a round of happy murmurs from the group. A-Mos looked at one of the damaged consoles, fingering the exposed and broken wires.

"Hmm, looks like somebody deliberately pulled this apart. It wasn't damaged in fighting," A-Mos confirmed. Victor frowned as he scratched his head.

"Maybe they needed spare parts?" offered Victor. A-Mos frowned.

"Maybe, but it looks to me like they just pulled it apart to disable it," replied A-Mos. Terry walked over and looked at the damaged console.

"I think I can repair it. Give me some time, and I'm pretty sure I can get it running again." This was met with appreciative murmurs. Mac nodded from where he stood.

"If you can, do it. It might help us to fill in more of the blanks about what happened here and why." Mac looked over at Sergei as he tapped his datapad. "What did you find out from accessing their main computer?" Sergei tilted his head slightly as he read over the translated files.

"It'll take me some time to piece it together, but from what I'm seeing, it looks like the Creators didn't come from this world," said Sergei, stopping everyone. "It looks like they settled on this world a very long time ago. What they were doing before that, I haven't yet translated, and some of the files look corrupted. I may not be able to retrieve that information. But, I did find an interesting tidbit of information, purely by accident."

He looked at the group and smiled. "The name of this planet is "_Ossia_", which appears to be not a word from the Creators' language, but from that strange race we saw carved into the cliffs." This amazing revelation stunned the group. "It's a little hard to translate, as it doesn't have a direct English equivalent, but the best translation would be "paradise", or "utopia"." The room was silent as the digested this new information. Seth was the first to break the silence.

"Is there more on this older race, these . . . Ossians?" Seth asked. Sergei frowned as he looked at his datapad.

"Um, it seems so, but it will take me time to make sense of it, as the Creators themselves were translating it from an apparently dead language," Sergei muttered as he typed. Sophie trilled, curious at this new information. Kyle blinked in slight confusion as he looked at Sergei.

"So, the Creators migrated here from someplace else. Does that mean the Ossians were the real natives?" Kyle asked. Sergei frowned as he lightly shook his head.

"I'm not sure if even the Creators themselves knew the answer to that one, I'm afraid. And, it looks to me like they weren't that interested in the first place. Pity." Sergei sounded disappointed as he spoke. A-Mos sighed and shook his head at that.

"Sadly, that's often the case with cultures obsessed with war. They often have a distinctive contempt for learning and intellectuals," said the former soldier. Terry frowned as he brought out his tools and began to repair one of the damaged terminals.

"Well, if I can repair this console, we might get lucky and find something," Terry muttered as he soldered two broken wires back together.

Before anyone could reply, Sophie suddenly screeched louder than any of them had ever heard, the group covering their ears at the painful sound. Sophie suddenly bolted out of the room and down the hallways, Kyle running to catch up. By the time they were out of the door, Kyle had already disappeared around the corner. Mac panted as he tapped his headset.

"Kyle, what the hell's going on?!" barked MacReady.

"_Somebody shot one of the Mer-Gels during birth!"_ Kyle frantically replied. Everyone was stunned. Mac's mind was reeling as he tried to think as he ran.

"Terry, you stay and see what you can do about repairs! Seth, you stay and keep an eye on the hive! Everyone else, follow Kyle and Sophie!" he ordered as they frantically ran to catch up with their friends.

XXX

The beach was peaceful as the waves ebbed and flowed, the various creatures lounging and feeding. The silence was broken by splashing as strange, alien forms seemed to appear from out of the surf. Frightened creatures scrambled away from these strange, new creatures that stood upright on two legs. The bizarre new arrivals slowly waded out of the water. They were all black, except for a small circle of white on the shoulders. Inside the circle was a black, cross-shape that was bent. The group of dark figures stood and surveyed the beach.

As they looked around, one of them noticed a brownish-gray creature trying to pull itself away from them, towards the water. One of the figures raised the long device it carried and pointed it at the fleeing Mer-Gel. There was a fierce crack and a brief flash of blue. The Mer-Gel moaned as a hole exploded in its upper chest. The wounded and dying creature moaned as it rolled onto its back.

As it moaned, its chest bulged. A white, worm-like creature ruptured through the soft, gelatinous flesh and screeched loudly. There were three more cracks, and the Mer-Gel, and the newborn, both died.

"_Nice shot," _said one of the invaders as the executioner lowered his weapon. They were startled when the surrounding cliffs erupted into frantic screeching as small black creatures with long heads came out from where they had been hiding and began to frantically screech and hiss. The figure that had fired again raised his weapon, but it was forcibly lowered by the hand of his commander.

"_Stop shooting at the animals, you fool. Don't waste ammunition,"_ ordered the commander of the group.

"_Jawhol,"_ the group replied as they walked ashore and began to trek towards the strange alien city of pyramids.

XXX

MacReady and the others all were almost out of breath as they finally caught up with Kyle and Sophie at the beach. There were other Xenomorphs there, too. When they arrived, Sam covered her mouth in horror as her eyes welled with tears.

One of the Mer-Gels lay where it had been killed, its chest opened and the small, white, worm-like infant dead, along with its Bonded. Sophie gave a shuddering moan as she stroked the dead bodies. Tears streamed down Kyle's face as he tried to comfort his mate. All around, Sophie's natural cousins were screeching and squealing in anger and sorrow. Kyle looked at MacReady as the older man approached. Kyle's emerald-green eyes shimmered with tears. Mac frowned as he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

A-Mos sighed as he bowed his head and softly said a prayer in an alien language before approaching, kneeling beside the bodies. A-Mos frowned deeply as he studied the wounds. He growled as he stood up and looked at the group.

"This wasn't some alien weapon. These wounds were made by a mag-rail rifle, I'd know them anywhere," said A-Mos. The group was startled. Mac growled as he looked around.

"We're not alone," said Mac as he looked at the group. He looked at Kyle as he stroked Sophie's head. "Kyle, tell the rest of the hive that there's other humans here and they're not friendly."

Sophie growled as her tail swished. Kyle looked at MacReady, his eyes cold.

"They know, and trust me, they won't be kind to who did it." Sophie hissed, her lips curling back, revealing silver teeth.

_Murderers! They'll pay for this!_ Sophie mentally hissed as Kyle stroked her.

_Right you are, my lovely lady of the night. Whoever they are, they won't get away with this,_ Kyle replied. MacReady looked back into the city, then to the group.

"Let's get back to the pyramid, ASAP!" barked Mac. With that order, the group quickly headed back for the pyramid.

XXX

The group of Nazis shined the lights of their rifles around the alien hallways as they walked through the building. Thankfully, they had not encountered anything else on their way into the city, nor once they entered the largest building. Their black uniforms were the perfect camouflage in the dark halls of the alien pyramid. Not a single bit of flesh showed on any of them. They were completely covered from head to toe. Their faces were covered by masks with tubes that ran under their arms to small tanks on their backs. They didn't even look human. Not that anyone would consider them such, anyway. One of them studied the strange ribs on the walls.

"_What a strange way to build,"_ he murmured in German.

"_Got that right. Makes you wonder what the freaks who built it looked like,"_ said another.

"_Be quiet!"_ their commander ordered sharply. Their commander raised his hand, stopping the group as he shined his light on an open doorway. The group cautiously moved towards the doorway, their weapons ready.

The chamber was huge, the ceiling vanishing into the dark above their heads. The lights from their weapons playing across odd shapes as they entered the room. The group slowly filed into the room, sweeping their weapons around to make sure there was no threat. The leader slowly looked around with the light of his weapon. He stopped when the light fell on a strangely familiar shape against a wall. He cautiously walked closer, his weapon aimed at the shiny shape.

It was long and oblong, looking glassy and transparent. As he came close enough to see within, he almost dropped his weapon in sheer awe. He walked up until he was standing right next to the large, alien cryotube. He reached up with a trembling hand and tapped his radio. _"Eagle, this is Fox, do you copy?"_

"_This is Eagle. What have you found?"_ asked the voice through the radio.

"_You're not going to believe this, but we found them. We found the Aryan Fathers. Repeat: we found the Aryan Fathers!"_ the commander of the team was unable to hide his excitement and awe as he stared at the face of Aryan perfection.

"_Fox, this is Eagle, excellent work! Bring them back to the transport if you can,"_ replied the eager voice. The rest of the team gathered to stare in awe at the image of human perfection.

The being slumbering within was perfect, without blemish or flaw, nor the individuality of hair. He was the perfect Aryan. One of the Nazis touched the metal of the top of the cryotube, his gloved hand running over it in awe.

"_Real Aryan writing. The real Runes. They're so beautiful . . .,"_ he murmured as his fingers brushed the glyphs. They were startled when the cryotube hissed and suddenly opened. They backed away. For a long moment, the giant inside didn't move, not did the Nazis. Slowly, the sleeping being sat up, tubes attached to the suit he was wearing detaching and sliding into slots in the cryotube. With a groan, the pale being pulled the mask off of his face. They stared with wonder as the pale giant stood up to his impressive full height.

The group quickly got on their knees and bowed their heads low, almost touching the floor. The dark eyes of the giant gazed down at them. The being tilted his head as he watched them. He then looked up at the doorway and walked forward, shoving several of the Nazis aside, much to their surprise. They turned and watched, bewildered as the pale giant disappeared through the doorway.

"_Where is he going?"_ asked one of them.

"_To fulfill his destiny, as we must,"_ said the commander as he looked back at the other cryotube that sat beside the open one. As he stared at the other pale giant inside the second tube, he raised his hand in the Nazi salute, as did the others. _"For the glory of the Reich, we shall bring the Aryan Fathers home! Zig Heil!"_ he declared.

"_Zig Heil!"_ replied the others.

XXX

"Ah, so purple is negative here. Well, that makes it easier," Terry mumbled from where he was half-buried in one of the consoles in the control room. Once he got into the heart of the alien console, he was able to find the similarities and was able to solder and reroute wires and cables with relative ease. He still had no idea what had happened, but he was inclined to agree with A-Mos that somebody had deliberately dismantled and damaged the console. He would only know why once he got it working, and Sergei was back to translate.

With a light crack, a hologram glittered to life above the console and Terry grinned. The hologram displayed the whole planet and the rings around it, along with lines of incomprehensible alien glyphs that Terry knew he had no chance of translating. He stood back and smiled as he admired his handiwork. Even alien technology was no match for Terry Lambert, expert technician and hacker! With a satisfied nod, he wiped his nose, turning it black from the dust and grease. Now that he had one of the damaged consoles online, he could focus on the one that was less damaged.

Terry had always liked a challenge, and that was why he had tackled the hardest one first. As he began to work on the second console, he happened to glance at the holographic map of the pyramid in the center of the room. He frowned as he noticed a blue dot on the map. Terry blinked in confusion as he scratched the back of his neck with a long, thin wrench. The blue dot seemed to be moving. What was it Sergei had said? Red dots were humans, and green for Xenomorphs? Then, what were the blue dots?

When he saw the blue dot approaching where the only red dot was, Terry's eyes grew wide as he quickly hid behind one of the consoles. Terry peeked out, and felt his blood run cold when he saw one of the smaller Creators walk into the room.

It was as tall as Sophie was. The being had no hair, not even eyebrows, which in itself was frightening. The fact he was so close to human, yet so alien was terrifying in a way Terry had never thought possible. As he saw the Creator begin to turn towards his position, Terry hid, covering his mouth as he trembled. He hoped and prayed that he hadn't been spotted. He heard the Creator coming closer and held his breath. He heard something being picked up and jangling. Terry chanced a peek and saw the Creator strapping a strange belt of some sort around his waist.

There were odd, egg-shaped things attached to the belt. What they were for, Terry couldn't begin to guess, but he doubted they were anything good. Terry thought about radioing Mac and the others, but he couldn't risk being heard by the Creator. He glanced at the door. Neither could he run, as the Creator would spot him for sure. Terry leaned back against the console, thinking on what to do. He leaned around and peeked again as the Creator tapped the map with his fingers, zooming in on one particular section.

Terry frowned, then his eyes grew wide when he saw the place the Creator was looking. "The hive! He's going after the hive!" Terry mentally screamed. As he watched, the Creator walked over to the far side of the room and tapped the glyphs on the panel, opening another door. Terry was almost panting as he tried to think. His hand slid across the small survival pistol at his side. Terry trembled from head to toe as he contemplated what to do.

Survival pistols were only for just that, and barely had enough stopping power to kill a squirrel. Against something that huge, it would be next to useless. Terry frowned as he pulled the pistol out of the holster as quietly as he could, his heart pounding in his throat. The only chance he had was to be sneaky and shoot him in the head when his back was turned. It might be cowardly, but it was the only chance he had. He had to do something! Terry carefully and quickly scampered from one hiding place to another as he followed the Creator.

He gasped as he looked up and saw that the door was closing. He gritted his teeth and rolled under the closing door. He looked to his left and saw the Creator walking away, towards a hall that was covered with resin. Terry leveled the pistol with shaking hands as he lined up the sights with the back of the white, bald head. Terry had hardly ever fired a gun before, and was scared out of his wits. He tried as best he could to steady his aim. He swallowed as he squeezed the trigger.

The round went low and to the right, hitting the Creator in the back of the right shoulder, impacting the suit he wore. The tall being whirled and Terry froze. He trembled as those dark eyes bored into him, seeming to look right through him. The Creator picked one of the egg-shaped devices from his belt and pushed something that clicked in the side as Terry tried not to panic and get his body to move. The Creator lobbed the device at Terry, almost casually.

Terry regained function of his arms in the nick of time as he batted the device into the wall, it clanking down the hall behind him as Terry knelt and flipped up the small holographic sight on the pistol and lined up another shot, right between the Creator's eyes. Just as Terry's finger tensed on the trigger, the alien grenade exploded behind him, throwing him across the hall and against a wall. He landed in a heap, upside down as blood flowed from his nose, ears and mouth. He watched, unable to move, as the Creator smiled and turned and walked away. Terry managed to raise his middle finger in final defiance of the bald bastard before he lost consciousness.

XXX

Mac and the others hurried as they rushed back into the pyramid. They had no idea who had shot the Mer-Gel, but the fact that there were other humans present had all of them nervous at the very least.

"Who the hell could it be out here?" hissed Hugo as he tried to keep up.

"Ya got me. Could be pirates, for all we know," replied Victor. Sam frowned as she ran with the others.

"Who could do this? The Mer-Gels can't defend themselves! They aren't a threat to anybody!" Sam cried. Mac growled as he tapped his headset.

"Terry, Seth, do you read me?" Static hissed. "Terry, Seth, answer me!" Mac barked, but all he received was static. "Damn it! The walls are interfering with the signal!"

As they rounder a corner, Sergei noticed something.

"Wait, stop!" he yelled as he stopped next to a blinking panel on a wall.

"Sergei, this isn't the time to stop and translate!" Mac said as the linguist looked at the blinking glyphs.

"It is when the letters say "intruder alert"," Sergei replied sharply. Sergei tapped the symbols and brought up a hologram of another hallway. Everyone stared as they watched a group of Nazi Stormtroopers carrying a large, long case of some sort. Eight were carrying the case, while another four were walking with their weapons, keeping guard. Mac growled at the sight.

"Damn it! It's the Krauts!" Mac swore. Sophie snarled as Kyle stared, his face going ashen.

"That's not our biggest problem. That's a Creator cryotube they're carrying," Kyle thickly croaked, his voice low and soft. Everyone stared at him.

"What? You mean one of them is still _alive_?" Hugo squawked. Kyle nodded. A-Mos growled as he tightened his grip on his rifle.

"Oh, we've got to stop this," he breathed. Mac nodded as he looked at Kyle and Sophie.

"Lead the way!" Mac ordered. Kyle and Sophie took off down the halls, the others close behind.

Through his link with Sophie, Kyle could feel that Diana and Artemis were the closest to where the Nazis and Creator were, and relayed the situation. The reply was swift, succinct and cold.

_They will not survive . . ._

XXX

"_Boy, this thing weighs a ton!" _grumbled one of the Nazis as the group carried the large cryotube.

"_Quit your griping!"_ snapped one of the others. The whole group was tense as they walked back through the dark hallways.

They came to another large room, dark as midnight. The lights from their rifles revealed a circle of pillars in the middle of the room. As they passed between the pillars, they heard a sound somewhere. Their commander stopped them.

"_What was that?"_ asked one of them as they set the cryotube down. It was a strange, soft sound. Like the fluttering of curtains, but even softer. The leader shined his light up at the top of one of the pillars. Suddenly, there was a flash of movement, lightning-quick. The group yelled as their leader fired his automatic rifle, the flash revealing that his head was gone as his body toppled to the ground, the weapon still firing, the flash briefly illuminating the form of something huge gliding out of sight. The Nazis quickly aimed at where they had seen the form and fired, lighting up the darkness with the flashes from their weapons.

There was another flash of movement, and one of the Nazis fell to the ground in two halves as something long and serpentine shot past almost quicker than the eye could follow. Again, they turned their fire to where they had seen the ghostly creature go, and again, another quick attack out of the darkness claimed the lives of two more of their comrades. The group formed a circle, backs to each other as they aimed at the darkness. They were caught off guard when their attacker swooped in from directly overhead, killing one and taking one with it, screaming into the darkness as they fired in almost every direction.

They were even more startled when the completely dismembered corpse of their comrade was tossed at them from out of the darkness, knocking several of them down. Before they could get up, a new attack came with the crack of gunfire from behind them, the burst of automatic fire killing two of them before they could turn.

"_Nazi bastards!"_ bellowed a deep voice as one of the mortally wounded Nazis fell against the alien cryotube, hitting one of the markings, which began to glow.

Kyle panted as he brought up his pistol and fired at the group of Nazis as A-Mos yelled and fired, drawing their attention. Kyle ducked behind a pillar, as did A-Mos, MacReady was behind, doing the same as he aimed around the corner with his own pistol and fired. Kyle lunged around the pillar and fired, hitting one of the Nazis in the one place no male _ever_ wants to be shot. Kyle winced as the Nazi toppled to the ground, face first, holding his groin. Kyle could feel Sophie's satisfaction through their link as she climbed along the ceiling.

_Excellent shot. I may not be male, or human, but that looked painful._ Kyle tried not to pay it any mind as he aimed again, but stopped when he saw the cryotube of the Creator begin to float.

"Damn it! Somebody get that thing!" MacReady yelled as he fired. One of the Nazis saw the floating cryotube slowly drifting away from them and lunged, only to have one of his wounded comrades fall on top of him, the first Nazi's head colliding with the edge of the cryotube, sending it flying across the room to collide loudly with one of the pillars. The distinctive sound of glass cracking was almost deafening in the room as the hissing of air could be heard.

"Oh my god," Kyle breathed, just as the cryotube exploded open and the Creator inside stood up. A-Mos aimed for the center of the chest and fired a burst, hitting the Creator and knocking him back a step or two, but that was about it.

"He's wearing armor!" A-Mos snarled as he dropped out the empty magazine of his rifle. As he was reloading, the Creator picked up his damaged, empty cryotube and hurled it at A-Mos. Just then, Sophie dropped from the ceiling and absorbed part of the impact as she crossed her arms and curled her tail in front of her and A-Mos like a shield. Both Sophie and A-Mos were knocked down and across the room.

"Sophie!" Kyle yelled.

_I'm all right. But A-Mos is unconscious,_ Sophie said through their link.

_Cruel one! Now is your death day arrived!_ roared Artemis as she lunged. The Creator leaped back and ducked as Diana swooped down at him, missing by only inches with her sharp talons. The Creator grabbed her tail, stopping her and flung her into Artemis, knocking them both down, the two of them landing in a twisted pile of confused limbs, wings and tails as they both screeched. The Creator drew one of the deadly wands from his side as he approached them. Kyle aimed and fired as fast as he could, hitting the Creator in the chest and shoulders as he rapidly emptied his pistol.

"Hey! Over here!" Kyle screamed. The Creator turned his attention to Kyle, just as Sophie collided with the Creator, knocking him down, the wand flaying out of his hand and sliding across the floor. Sophie tried to kill the Creator with her tongue, but he managed to place his feet against her ribs and fling her off before she could strike. The Creator turned over and saw the wand and lunged, only for the wand to disappear around the corner of the pillar. He got to his feet and lunged after, right into the waiting end of the wand as Kyle held it out like a sword in a thrust.

The wand met the Creator right in his open mouth, instantly turning his head and shoulders to ash as his headless body continued to lunge forward and crashed to the ground a few feet away. Kyle trembled as he dropped to his knees.

_Sophie?_ Kyle reached out to her.

_I'm all right. So are the others,_ she replied. Kyle sighed with relief as he managed to pull himself to his feet. It was Artemis who gently helped him to his feet.

"Kyle, you okay?" MacReady asked. Kyle nodded as Sophie wrapped her arms around him and purred. That was when Sam, Victor, Hugo and Sergei came in from where they had been hiding in the hallway. Sam went over to A-Mos as he sat up with a groan.

"Anybody catch the number of that freighter that hit me?" he groaned as he held his head with his mechanical hand. Sam quickly checked him to make sure he didn't have a concussion.

Suddenly, Sophie's head snapped around and she hissed. Kyle followed as she stalked over to where one of the Nazis was wounded, but not dead, and trying to get to the rifle of one of his fallen comrades. Sophie stepped on his back, and none too gently, stopping him.

"_I'd stay still if I were you,"_ Sergei warned in German. Sophie hissed as she ripped the Nazi's helmet and mask off, the air hissing as his pale face was exposed. The tip of Sophie's tail curled under his chin, the razor-sharp edge of her tail-blade just grazing his neck. Kyle stood back and watched as MacReady kept his pistol out, watching the Nazi tremble under Sophie's foot as she hovered over him like an angel of death.

"Sergei, ask him why they were here," said Mac as A-Mos cracked his neck and reloaded his rifle. Sergei did as Mac asked. At first, the Nazi was silent, but Sophie wrapping her long fingers around his head and beginning to pull made him answer very swiftly.

"He says they were here to explore and confirm that the Xenomorphs existed here, as well as investigate for any other useful information or equipment," Sergei translated. Mac frowned deeply at this.

"Ask him how they found this place," Mac ordered. Sergei asked Mac's question in German, the Nazi wisely replying quickly. Sergei sighed as he looked at Mac.

"They followed us," Sergei replied gravely. The group was silent. Kyle looked down at the Nazi, kneeling as he spoke.

"Do you speak English?" Kyle asked.

"_Ja._ I do," answered the Nazi, the fear clear in his voice. The others watched as Kyle spoke.

"How did you find the Creator?" Kyle asked. The Nazi blinked as he looked at Kyle. Kyle frowned as he pointed to the headless body of the Creator. "The one that was asleep, how did you find him?" Kyle clarified. To their surprise, the Nazi gave a soft laugh.

"They are the Aryan Fathers. We found them, as it was foretold." He looked at Kyle, those pale, ice-blue eyes speaking of untold cruelty and evil. "They will return and lead us to glory and purge the impure filth from humanity. The great Aryan Fathers will kill you all," the Nazi chuckled.

Sophie hissed in anger. Kyle closed his eyes as Sophie gave the Nazi a quick and painless death, severing his brain stem with her claw. Mac sighed as Sophie stood up and backed away.

"There's one less bastard to deal with," A-Mos muttered as he lowered his rifle. MacReady tapped his headset.

"Terry, Seth, do you read me?" Mac asked, again receiving static, as he had the last few times they had tried to contact Terry and Seth. When they had stopped at the control room, Terry was nowhere to be found. Now, knowing that the Nazis were there, Mac was worried. "Damn it! I still can't get Terry or Seth on the horn," Mac growled. Sam sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair with worry.

"I can't believe it. The Nazis are here. And they think the Creators are gods," Sam said as she shook her head. Hugo frowned.

"Hey, wait a minute. He said "Aryan Fathers". Plural, as in more than one," Hugo pointed out. The group was silent. Kyle and Sophie were the first to move, dashing back down the hallway.

"We've got to get back to the hive!" Kyle shouted as the group made a mad dash back down the twisting, turning hallways of the Creators' complex.

XXX

Seth looked at the resin that covered the walls as he kept watch. Currently, he was in the main chamber with the Great Mother, who seemed to watch his every move. Despite that, he never felt threatened by her. She seemed more curious, than anything. He looked at her and smiled very softly.

"This feels like hardened silk. Nice way to decorate," he said softly. The Great Mother's lips turned upwards into a soft smile of her own as she gave a soft, deep purr. Seth wished that Kyle had been there to tell him what she was saying. For some reason, Seth liked the Great Mother and her kind. There was something about them that appealed to him. They had a beauty and elegance that he had never seen in a living being before. The Great Mother especially. She tilted her head as she watched him. Seth sighed lightly as he sat on one of the spine-like tubes of resin that came down from the wall and out onto the floor. He tapped his headset.

"Mac? Kyle? Anybody read me?" Only static answered him. He frowned as he dropped his hand to his lap. Since the hive was underground, their radio signals couldn't reach very far. He looked at the Great Mother, who moaned. He gave a small, half-smile. "I'm sure they'll be back in no time," he said, trying to be positive. He breathed deeply as he remembered what Kyle had said when he and Sophie tore out of the control room like their tails were on fire. Who or what would shoot one of the Mer-Gels? Seth frowned deeper as he thought of the possibilities.

There was the chance that one of the Creators, or their robots was still skulking around. The thought was far from comforting to Seth, but they had A-Mos with them, and that would be enough to take out a small army. Seth chuckled.

He was startled when the Great Mother's head snapped up, a deep, rumbling growl emanating from her. "What is it?" Seth asked. He was surprised when he felt a very slight vibration through the resin. The Great Mother stood from where she had been laying on her bed of silk and moved to the very back of the chamber, turning and stuffing herself into a small crevice, a hole in the resin that looked like it had at one point been a door or hallway that was now blocked by resin. She looked at Seth and crooned, motioning with her hands for him to come to her.

Seth blinked as he felt more vibrations through the resin. The Great Mother moaned, again motioning for him to come to her. He stood and placed his hand on the resin, feeling the vibrations again. He frowned deeply as he realized that an intruder was in the hive. He looked at the Great Mother as she implored him to come to the safety of her arms. He looked down the hallway, then back to her. Seth felt something cool wash through him as old images rushed through his mind. He stood firmly as he looked at the Great Mother.

"Don't you worry, I'll keep take care of it," he said as he turned and ran down the hallway, even as the Great Mother screeched after him.

Seth kept his breathing as even and quiet as he could as he ducked into one of the side passages and waited. He didn't have to wait long. He tensed as the Creator walked into view. The tall, pale being looked around, then down the hallway Seth had come from. Seth looked around and saw a piece of resin that looked sturdy and thin, like a pipe. He picked it up. It was heavy enough to make a perfect club. Seth took a deep, silent breath as he tightened his grip on it. Seth only had a knife with him, which would not be much use against an enemy like this in a one-on-one, face-to-face fight.

If Seth could club him and disable him, that might give him the chance to slit his throat or stab a vital spot, but he had to be quick and have good aim. Seth tensed every muscle as the Creator began to walk down the hall, towards where the Great Mother was guarding the Cradles. This was it. Seth leaped up, silently as he raised the club and brought it down, aiming for the back of the Creator's bald head.

The Creator raised his arm, the resin breaking across it harmlessly as Seth landed. Seth stared at the broken resin, then looked up as the Creator looked at him with his dark eyes. "Bad idea," Seth managed before he was backhanded. Seth just barely managed to throw himself backwards and go limp, so the blow didn't deal as much damage, but he still was sent sprawling. He was pretty sure he saw a few stars as he groaned. Seth managed to sit up, fully expecting the Creator to be right on top of him, but instead, the tall, pale being was walking down the hallway, as if he'd just batted a harmless fly away.

Seth growled, wiping the blood from his lip as he picked up a piece of broken rock or resin from the floor as he ran forward, cocked his arm back and threw it with all his might at the back of the Creator's head. "Come on, Baldilocks! We're not through yet!" Seth yelled as the rock collided with the Creator's head. The being groaned, holding his head as he turned back, his teeth bared in anger as Seth mirrored the gesture. "What's the matter, princess? Scared?!" Seth taunted. The Creator seemed to sneer at Seth as the Creator reached for one of the egg-shaped objects on his belt.

Seth immediately knew what they were. They both were startled when a loud screech echoed through the hive from deep within. The Creator looked down the hall, over his shoulder, and that was all the opportunity Seth needed.

Quick as he could, Seth leaped forward, reaching for one of the egg-shaped grenades on the alien being's belt. The Creator was faster, grabbing Seth's wrist in an iron grip. Seth smiled darkly as he brought out something from his belt. The switchblade clicked open as Seth stabbed the Creator in the right wrist, piercing it right through. The Creator growled, throwing Seth across the room to collide with a fractured wall of resin, which shattered with the impact.

Seth didn't even have the time to groan, as the Creator stalked over and grabbed him by the head with both hands, lifting him helplessly into the air. The Creator sneered into Seth's face as he began to squeeze. Seth's ears began to ring to the point that he couldn't hear anything. As the pressure mounted and the pain increased, he could only give a tired whimper as his sight began to blur and go dark. Suddenly there was a wet crack, and he felt hot blood pour over his face before he suddenly felt weightless. As his minded faded away into nothingness, he felt a feeling of deep sorrow and regret.

He had failed his friends.

What a way to die.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

Seth groaned softly, he could hear voices, but they sounded diffuse, as if he was hearing them from underwater. He tried to focus, but felt sleepy and a little queasy. He slowly drifted between sleep and wakefulness, every now and then, he could hear the voices again.

"No, we can't move him. He has a head injury," said a voice he almost recognized. It was a woman's voice, but he couldn't quite place where he had heard it. Whoever she was, she seemed to be talking about him.

A head injury. Maybe he'd fallen down one of the mining shafts. If that was the case, he was lucky to be alive. As he drifted in and out of consciousness, he became aware of a steady rumble, like some great engine. Maybe he really was in the mines, as there were plenty of big machines that had that kind of rumble down there. His head felt hot, but, strangely, it didn't hurt. His left shoulder did, though. Seth then heard another voice, a male voice. It was soft and gentle, a friend's voice. After a little thought, he recognized the name, his lips barely moving, whispered the name.

"Kyle?" Seth barely whispered.

Kyle's head snapped around at the soft croak. Seth was cradled in the Great Mother's arms on a bed of softest, warm silk, his head supported by her larger arm as she gently purred, comforting him.

"I'm here, Seth," Kyle soothed as he looked at his friend's face.

Seth was a real mess.

His face was covered in blood, both his, and that of the Creator who had tried to kill him. Seth weakly groaned, licking his lips. Sophie moaned as she wrapped her arms around Kyle, comforting her mate as he looked at Seth, who was barely alive. Seth groaned softly as he tried to move his head. The Great Mother softly grasped his face with one of her hands, keeping him still. Seth slowly opened his eyes and rolled them towards Kyle.

Kyle felt sick when he saw Seth's eyes. The whites of his eyes were almost completely red from the hemorrhaging blood vessels, but that wasn't what really hit Kyle hard. At the very edges of Seth's eyes, the veins were not red, but knotted harsh silver, as was the very outermost edge of the white of the eye. Kyle felt his heart plummet to the bottom of his feet as Sophie moaned, feeling her mate's distress.

_Kyle? What's wrong?_ Sophie asked as she tightened her grip.

_Seth has Second-Stage Thalarium poisoning. He's from Berren Prime, just like me,_ Sophie was shocked.

Thalarium was one of the most dangerous heavy metals known, and it was everywhere on Berren Prime. The deadly heavy metal settled in the kidneys, lungs and, worst of all, the nerves and brain. Nobody who lived on Berren Prime didn't have it in some amount in their system. It was this deadly element that killed hundreds of children every month.

Sophie recalled an image from Kyle's memories of a vast cavern that stretched off into the distance as far as the eye could see. All along the walls were niches. In each niche was a tiny body, wrapped in a shroud, a small candle and a child's toy. Countless teddy bears, dolls and other marks of the innocence of childhood marked this ghastly, endless cavern as the Berren Prime Childrens' Graveyard. It was this horrible, heartbreaking image that Kyle made into one of his most famous paintings as Trevor Stone: _Grave of the Innocents_. This amazing, stark, heart-wrenching painting stirred much concern and humanitarian help for Berren Prime. Sophie wasn't the only one who saw the image.

The Great Mother moaned in maternal sorrow at the image of so many children, some not even five years old, dead before their time. It filled her with untold grief. She moaned sadly as she softly nuzzled Seth.

_No parent should have to bury their child . . ._ she wept. She gave a deep rumble, which even Sam and the other humans felt. Diana and Artemis approached, moaning softly as they looked at Seth.

Kyle tried his best to smile, but it was halfhearted.

"Don't worry, Seth. You're safe," Kyle comforted as Diana and Artemis extended their tongues and produced two large blobs of the white Life-Jelly, dripping it onto the Great Mother's hand. She softly crooned as she applied a little to her finger, very gently wiping it on Seth's lips. Seth very weakly licked at his lips as his eyes sagged closed.

"Tastes sweet," he slurred in a mumble. Kyle smiled feebly, but Sophie moaned.

Sam sighed with some mild relief as she watched Seth lick the Royal-Jelly. If anything would help, it would be that. She frowned as she read the readout from the portable medical scanner from her medical kit. Seth had some minor skull fractures, and a very small hemorrhage in his brain. It was the latter that concerned Sam most. Especially the fact that it was on the top of his brain. Sam watched as the Great Mother held Seth in her arms, gently feeding him the Royal-Jelly and softly purring. She looked again at the scan.

"He has a small hemorrhage in his brain," she said as she looked at the scanner, everyone listening. "Right now, it's not serious, but we have to keep him calm and try not to move him. If the blood clot comes off, he'll be dead before we can do anything. So, we have to make sure nothing raises his blood pressure." The Great Mother purred gently, nodding as she gave Seth the last of the jelly. Sam replaced the scanner and removed a small tube. She smiled gently as she looked at Seth. He looked at Sam, his bloody eyes barely open, just slits.

"Is everyone okay?" Seth asked weakly. The Great Mother moaned as she stroked his hair. Sam smiled as best she could.

"Yes, Seth," she replied.

"The babies? Are they okay?" Seth asked, his voice tired and weak.

"They're just fine, thanks to you," said Kyle. Sophie purred her agreement as she softly touched his face. Sam brought up the tiny pressure syringe and pressed it to Seth's neck, injecting the Morphine.

"There. That will help your pain. You just take it easy and sleep. You've done more than anyone," Sam said softly. The Great Mother crooned softly, as did Diana, Artemis, Lissa, and all the rest of her children. Seth gave a soft smile as he closed his eyes and slept in the Great Mother's arms.

"Seth's as tough as they come," said Hugo from where he sat to the side. A-Mos nodded softly in agreement.

"Berrens always are," said A-Mos. Sam sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. It was a small miracle that Seth was alive, after what happened. Her amber eyes drifted to the far wall.

A form was laying by a wall, covered in the cream-colored silk of Sophie's kind, a bloodstain where the head was. Sam couldn't help a few tears. There wasn't anything they could do. By the time they found Terry, it was already too late. Sam blinked her tears away as her gaze settled on the crumpled from of the Creator, laying against the wall where the Great Mother has tossed it.

The body was nearly cut in two from where the Great Mother's tail-blade had pierced the side. If she had been even a second slower, Seth would be dead. She felt someone place something warm on her shoulders. She smiled at Mac as he draped his leather jacket over her shoulders.

With Seth sleeping in the Great Mother's arms, Kyle and Sophie turned to their friends.

"Well, what do we do now?" Victor asked as he ran his hand over his mohawk. A-Mos sighed as he crossed his arms.

"Well, we know the Nazis have a lading craft somewhere around. We need to find it and take care of it," A-Mos said firmly. Mac nodded his agreement.

"He's right." Mac looked at Kyle. "Have the others in the city found anything?" Kyle frowned lightly as Sophie growled.

"They think so. The scent is vague, but they think they came from the beach," Kyle said as he filtered the thoughts from the others with Sophie. A-Mos sighed.

"Sounds like an amphibious dropship," A-Mos grunted. Sergei sighed as he scratched his head.

"That will make things difficult," Sergei muttered. Kyle gave a soft smile as he shook his head.

"Hardly. Sophie's kind are natural swimmers. Believe me, I know," Kyle assured. A-Mos nodded lightly.

"Be that as it may, they'd likely detect them with their sonar before they got close enough to strike," A-Mos pointed out. Kyle smiled wider, and so did Sophie.

"That's where we have an advantage. Two, in fact," Kyle declared as he held up the belt of the Creator's grenades. Diana hissed softly as she approached. "How about we give them a taste of their own history? I think a little _Blitzkrieg_ is in order," Kyle said as he, Sophie and Diana grinned.

XXX

The Nazis on board the dropship/U-Boat were busy as they read dials and screens, pressed buttons and went about their duties. One of them bore a look of frustration.

"_Unit four-six-seven, respond!"_ he growled into his headset. _"Unit four-one-eight, respond! Any units, respond at once, damn it!"_ Only silence answered him. He angrily slammed his fist against a wall. _"Those idiots had better be dead, or they'll wish they were!"_ he declared as he stood up from where he had been stooped by the console.

Suddenly, a clunk made them all turn to the ladder that led up to the entrance hatch. A band was laying there, studded with several metallic oval shapes.

"_What the hell is that?"_ asked one of the crew.

XXX

The explosion could easily be seen from the shore as the blueish column of fire erupted from the conning tower of the U-boat-shuttle and went skywards, the water rippling with the force. There were several loud howls of laughter from the shore at the impromptu fireworks display.

"Boom, baby!" Victor bellowed. Hugo was humming _Ride of the Valkyries_ as loud as he could.

Even A-Mos had a grin as Diana came in for a most graceful landing on the soft sand.

"Nice hit. The bastards didn't know what hit them," A-Mos chuckled. Diana purred at the praise as Kyle sat on Sophie's back, clinging to one of the cliffs as he watched through a pair of binoculars.

"Perfect hit. I can see it sinking," Kyle confirmed. Sophie purred as she turned and crawled down the cliff and onto the sand. MacReady nodded as he watched the Nazi craft sink.

"Great job. That will buy us a little time," Mac said with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

_The invaders will not so easily be deterred. Return to the Hive,_ the Great Mother advised. Kyle nodded and relayed her message to the group. A-Mos nodded.

"Good idea. I want to see if we can get into the Creators' armory. We might have a better chance if we have some superior firepower," A-Mos advised. This was met with positive murmurs from everyone.

XXX

Back inside the pyramid, it took a fairly long time, and Sophie, Lissa and several others to break open the resin that sealed the alien armory. Sergei opened the door and switched on the lights, revealing all the strange alien weaponry that was on racks on the walls, waiting to be used.

"Holy moly _ravioli_!" Victor gasped as he stared at the huge alien weapons. Most of the rifles were as long as he was tall. Some were much smaller, looking more like pistols.

"That's a lot of firepower," Mac whistled as he entered the room. A-Mos hefted up one of the Creator weapons, looking down the sights.

"Rather light for the size," A-Mos observed as he looked at the holes for the hand to grip the large trigger. Sergei was translating as Victor and Hugo looked like two little boys in a toy store.

"Look at that one! That looks so wicked!" said Hugo, almost drooling over a small, compact weapon that reminded them of a submachine gun. Kyle looked up at a particularly large rifle on a wall. It had a folding bipod attached underneath the barrel and looked to be almost ten feet long.

"What's that one?" Kyle asked as Sophie trilled. Sergei typed on his datapad as A-Mos approached. Sergei frowned as he read the translation.

"Huh, it's a little hard to translate, but it seems to say 'Sonic-Electric Disruptor'," Sergei said, seeming confused. A-Mos smiled wide at the name.

"That sounds like fun," A-Mos grinned in much the same way Sophie did.

XXX

It was beginning to rain, the misty clouds hanging low as the second Nazi dropship came in through the clouds. The smaller craft circled the ruined alien city, observing before landing. Shattered alien craft, huge and crescent-shaped sat where they had crashed thousands of years ago. The city was completely still, the only movement from the rain as the ship came in for a landing in a clear area between several ruined buildings.

Below on the ground, a long tube, too small for the cameras on the dropship to see, stuck out of the cracked wall of one of the ruined buildings, a few drops of rain dripping from the shiny surface.

The tube followed the movement of the dropship, carefully aiming at it, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike. The dropship came in, the engines whining as it landed with a metallic clunk. It remained motionless for a few seconds, just sitting in the pattering rain. A hiss emanated from it as the ramp in the underside lowered and the black-clad troops inside disembarked, their rifles raised.

The tube aimed carefully at the front of the dropship. There was a fierce boom as the weapon discharged violently, the amber-colored shot of energy flying straight and hitting the front of the ship with a deafening roar. The glass of the windows on the ship shattered, as did the goggles of the troops as they all were knocked down. Yellow bolts of electricity sparked and flickered as they crawled along the sparking ship.

"_Now!"_ MacReady yelled as a sudden hail of blue energy rounds flew from the ruined building that they had set up the ambush in. Several of the Nazis were killed before they could even rise.

Sophie and her Hive-Sisters charged, pouncing on their enemies and killing them swiftly. Several of them streamed up the ramp and into the dropship. Screams could be heard from within, droplets of blood flew out of the smashed windshield as the pilots within met their end. The fight was over in under a minute. All told, the Nazis managed to fire exactly three shots. The group of humans carefully came out from their hiding place, weapons ready. Sergei smiled as he looked at A-Mos.

"My, my, that rifle came in quite handy, didn't it?" said the linguist as A-Mos hefted up a smaller rifle.

"It really did," A-Mos replied smugly, patting the stock. Kyle smiled as Sophie walked up, wiping the blood from her face.

_They're all dead. They never had a chance to radio their ship,_ Sophie confirmed. Kyle smiled at the good news. A-Mos' plan had worked like a charm. When Sergei found out that the Disruptor-Rifle emitted a combination EMP and sonic round, A-Mos realized it would be perfect to down the Nazi ship and disable all of its gadgetry. Not a single piece of electronics had survived. Even if the Nazis had been able to stand and fight, their targeting computers and laser sights all were destroyed.

Kyle looked at MacReady and smiled.

"Got 'em all," Kyle confirmed. Mac smiled and nodded his head.

"Good," Mac replied as he rolled a dead Nazi over with his boot. Victor and Hugo swept their compact weapons around.

"Man, we fragged 'em good!" Hugo loudly declared, pumping his fist. Victor grinned.

"Yeah! Caught 'em with their pants down!" Victor crowed. As the two grinned, they became aware of a steady rumbling that seemed to be getting louder. Everyone frowned as they looked around for the source of the rumbling. Even the Xenomorphs looked confused. In a very short time, the ground was shaking as the rumble became a deep, distant roar that seemed to be getting closer.

"What the hell is going on?!" Kyle yelled as Sophie growled. MacReady grimaced as he looked up at the clouds.

"Atmospheric entry. We've got company, people!" Mac yelled, just as the clouds were breached by a large, long shape. Everyone tensed and the Xenomorphs screeched as the massive Nazi ship came into view, the white circle and swastika fully visible on the side. Sam looked pale as she watched the main Nazi ship coming closer.

"Oh, my god," she breathed. Victor and Hugo growled as they gripped their weapons.

"Man! Can this day get any worse?!" Victor asked loudly.

They all were taken by surprise when there was a huge blast from above. The Nazi ship suddenly exploded into flame as a massive explosion broke the ship into two in the middle, the two halves of the ship falling down to crash into the cliffs and mountainside. They looked further up as another, larger shape came through the clouds right behind the Nazi ship. It was huge. Massive gun batteries adorned the sides, marking it as a battle-carrier. As the ship fully breached the clouds, they all felt sick when they saw the Weyland-Yutani logo emblazoned on the side of the massive ship. Mac glared at Victor.

"You just _had_ to say something," Mac growled. Sam desperately looked at A-Mos.

"Quick! That rifle! Use it on that ship!" she tried not to panic. A-Mos growled softly.

"Won't work. I can tell from here. That's a battle-carrier, and armored against things like that.

We'd need an anti-aircraft cannon to punch through that armor," A-Mos looked at the group. "Let's get into the pyramid and close the doors!" The group scrambled to do just that as the massive craft moved overhead. When everyone was inside, human and Xenomorph, Sergei closed and locked the large doors of the pyramid.

Once the doors were closed, the group allowed themselves to collapse.

"Great, after everything we've been through, those Weyland-Yutani bastards still found this place!" Victor groaned. A-Mos frowned from where he leaned against a wall.

"I think it's safe to say that Wey-Yu's little partnership with the Nazis is dissolved," A-Mos quipped. MacReady sighed heavily as he scratched his beard.

"They must've followed the Krauts, just like they followed us," Mac sighed as he almost hung his head. Sophie moaned as she hugged Kyle, her tail gently wrapping around him.

_Don't be afraid, my love. I'm here,_ Sophie comforted as she nuzzled him. He smiled as he touched his head to hers. Sergei sighed as he looked at his datapad before placing it in the pocket of his survival suit. MacReady looked at Kyle and Sophie as Sam held Mac's hand.

"How's Seth doing?" Mac asked. Kyle gave a soft smile.

"He's doing much better. He's still sleeping, but he's already healing," Kyle confirmed through his link to the Hive. Mac smiled and nodded. Sergei frowned lightly as he stood from where he had been sitting.

"I think there are defensive systems in the control room," Sergei announced. Everyone looked up at him. "I have a hard time believing that a city like this, made by such an advanced, warlike people was so vulnerable to not have some kind of defense from airborne attack. There have to be some kind of anti-aircraft defenses for this city. Let's find them." This was met by positive murmurs.

The group quickly headed for the control room. All the while, Kyle could feel the Xenomorphs' thoughts, updating the Great Mother, and each other on the situation. Despite how dire things were looking, he constantly could feel the comforting thoughts and feelings from all the others.

As they arrived at the control room, Sergei took a seat in one of the large chairs and began to tap holograms, browsing through files and long strings of alien glyphs. He frowned as he tapped some blinking glyphs. They were surprised when a hologram of two Nazis running through a strange hallway appeared. It almost looked like they were running through halls covered with hive-resin, but these walls seemed to look more mechanical than organic.

They were startled when a large, long tube suddenly shot out of the ceiling, grabbing one of the Nazis, engulfing him from his head downwards. Sophie moaned, shivering from head to toe at the horrible sight. Kyle hugged his frightened mate, comforting her and sending warm feelings through their link.

_Don't worry, Sophie. It's far away. It can't get us. We're safe here,_ Kyle comforted as he gently kissed her on the cheek. Sam turned away as another long tube caught the other Nazi, slowly devouring him from the feet up. Mac looked at Kyle, grim-faced.

"What the hell is that?" MacReady asked as the first Nazi's legs helplessly kicked as he was slowly eaten alive by the living tube with teeth.

"It's the Devourer," Kyle replied darkly. Sergei, barely keeping his own stomach from turning, managed top turn off the display. A-Mos sighed.

"They must have been survivors from the Nazi battle-carrier. Likely from an escape pod that managed to eject," A-Mos stated as he looked at the alien holograms. Sergei nodded his agreement.

"So, _that's_ the Devourer. What a nightmare," said Hugo as he tried to keep his lunch down.

Mac looked at Sergei.

"Can you show us where the W-Y ship is landing?" Sergei nodded as he touched various holograms until a view of the outside was displayed, the Weyland-Yutani ship coming down right next to the even larger Devourer. As the ship came down, the afterburners seared off the vegetation from the ground, showing that it was carved into the rock. The whole place was one large landing field.

Kyle sighed heavily as he watched.

"They're after that ship," Kyle said. Everyone looked at him. "They think it has eggs, Cradles on board, like the ship on Acheron," he explained. Hugo rubbed the side of his neck.

"Um, so what do they want them for? It can't just be for weapons," Hugo said, sounding more than a little confused. MacReady looked at Kyle, who was looking at Sam, then his own hands. Mac blinked as he turned and looked out the door, then back to Kyle as Mac rubbed the back of his head.

"You're right. They don't just want them for weapons," he said as realization hit him. The group looked at MacReady as he spoke. "Before they wiped them out, they used to make all kinds of medicines and important chemicals from Horseshoe Crabs back on Earth. They think they can do the same with Sophie's kind." Kyle gave Mac a grateful smile, glad he didn't have to come out and say it.

A-Mos nodded.

"Right. Especially the Royal-Jelly. They'd make a fortune if they learned about it," A-Mos said as Sophie moaned. Sam frowned.

"And all at the expense of Sophie's people. They'd use them like cattle!" Sam growled. Mac watched as hatches on the side of the W-Y ship opened. He looked at Sergei.

"Can you detonate the engines of that ship?" Mac asked. Everyone looked at Mac. Sergei smiled at him.

"No, not remotely, but I can do something even better," Sergei replied as he tapped holograms, bringing up a grid, displaying what appeared to be the whole valley. "I may not be able to remotely detonate the ships, but I _can_ activate and fly them." This was met with surprised murmurs. Kyle frowned lightly as he looked at the hologram.

"I'm not so sure that will be a permanent solution," Kyle pointed out. Sergei smiled further as he got up from the chair and walked over to the console that had been damaged, and pointed to the hologram of the planet.

"It's not, but this is. Take a closer look at the rings around the planet," Sergei said. They did. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They looked rather like the rings around Saturn. "Those rings aren't natural; they're a planetary defense system," he declared. The group was stunned into silence. Sergei crossed his arms as he looked at the hologram. "This is the control console for it. Thanks to Terry, we have everything we need." MacReady looked at Sergei.

"We don't have any time to lose. Do it!" Sergei smiled as he took his place at the console.

"Okay, let's get this party in the air," Sergei chuckled as he tapped the glyphs and holograms. They watched as ships began to rumble and rise, both on the map, and through the hologram. The humans on the ground hurriedly got back into their ship as the Devourer began to lift from the ground. They were a little surprised when they heard voices, mixed with static.

"_Mr. Yutani, the ships are taking off!"_ said a voice through a radio channel.

"_Go after that large ship! Don't lose it! We've worked too hard to lose it now!"_ replied a deeper voice. They watched as the ship took off again to catch up with the Devourer as it was leaving.

Sergei stood from his chair and walked over to the console for the defense array. He pressed a few of the buttons on the side, then tapped the hologram.

Everyone watched as the rings of the planet began to move. Right before their eyes, the rings turned, one raising, the other lowering until the planet looked like an atom with protons. The ships were tiny dots on the hologram as they flew outwards, towards the rings. Everyone tensed as they watched, hoping for the best. Victor looked at Sergei.

"What if they catch up and board it?" Victor asked. Sergei smiled as he watched.

"It won't matter. They'll just be lunch. They'll never stop a ship that big," Sergei said as they watched the ships near the rings. Strings of alien glyphs ran across the hologram, changing from blue to yellow to red. Then, suddenly, the rings turned red and the dots of the ships all vanished.

Kyle sighed with relief and Sophie purred as Victor and Hugo cheered loudly and Sam threw her arms around Mac's neck. Just like that, the Weyland-Yutani battle-carrier, all the Creator ships, everything was gone, completely vaporized. A-Mos chuckled as he leaned against one of the consoles.

"Not bad, not bad," he chuckled. MacReady sighed with relief as he looked at Kyle and Sophie.

"Now that those bastards are taken care of, let's see to Terry. He saved us all,"

XXX

There was a soft, gentle breeze blowing as the group ascended the cliffs. Kyle rode on Sophie's back, Sam, Mac and the rest rode on others as they climbed the cliffs. As they climbed, Sergei could see the nieces that held the statues of the Ossians. He smiled as the group climbed higher.

"Marvelous," said Sergei. They reached the top of the cliff, overlooking the sea. Diana and Artemis carefully carried a form to the edge of the cliff, carefully placing it upright, softly crooning as they did.

Terry stood, his body encased in resin, like a statue, the face looking so lifelike, he almost looked like he was merely sleeping. Sophie's skill as a sculptor was marvelous and meticulous. The whole group, human and Xenomorph alike, bowed their heads in respect.

"Thank you, Terry. You saved us all," Sam said as she wiped her tears. Mac and all the others paid their last respects, one at a time. A-Mos was last. The former soldier walked up to Terry's interred form and pinned something to the still somewhat-soft resin. As he stood back, Kyle couldn't help a soft gasp at the teal-enameled medal.

It was the _Nova Star of Valor_, the second-highest award of the Untied Systems Military. A-Mos raised his right hand in a salute.

"You earned it," was all he said before he turned on his heel and walked back to the group.

Just as they were preparing to leave, the clouds parted, and revealed something beautiful. Sam looked up and smiled.

"Look at that!" she gasped. The others looked as they saw the beautiful, soft-violet sky that the clouds had hidden. The group smiled at the beautiful sky as they returned to the city.

XXX

Kyle and Sophie sat on the beach as the evening began turning to dark, just watching the waves. Kyle sat in Sophie's lap as she stroked his hair and he held her hands.

_We did it, Sophie. We helped the Great Mother and the others,_ Kyle said softly. Sophie purred gently.

_Yes, we did. Now, they can set right the natural order that the Creators interfered with._ Kyle smiled softly as he rubbed Sophie's hands. They were silent for a while, just enjoying each other's company and the closeness.

_Do you want to stay?_ Kyle asked. Sophie hummed softly as she stroked his hair.

_No. It is beautiful, and it is the home of my kind, but it's not _my_ home,_ Sophie replied. Images of their island, their aqua-farm, their studio, the forest, their bedroom all flowed through their minds.

Kyle smiled softly as he kissed Sophie's hands. He could feel the tiny pinch in her heart to leave her kind.

She loved Kyle more than anything in the whole of the cosmos, but a small part of her felt sad to return to a world where she was the only one of her kind. Kyle could feel it, and it hurt his heart as well, but there wasn't anything he could do. He turned in Sophie's lap and wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you, Sophie," Kyle whispered softly. Sophie purred as she stroked his hair.

_I love you too, Kyle._

XXX

The Great Mother softly moaned as she felt Kyle and Sophie's conversation. Kyle and Sophie were her children, and she loved them as any mother would. It made her sad to see their quandary.

As she lay on her bed of silk, she softly crooned as she gently rocked Seth in her arms, like a small child. Indeed, that was what he was, compared to her. All humans were. She looked at Seth as he slumbered and smiled softly.

He was healing very quickly, thanks to the Life-Jelly. Kyle was the very first human being she had ever encountered, but he had given the best of impressions about his kind.

Seth had also shown the best qualities of his species. There was something endearing to her about humans. Artemis crooned softly from where she rested beside her Mother.

_They are a very resilient race,_ Artemis said as the Great Mother brushed a strand of hair from Seth's face.

_Yes, they are. They also are sad,_ said the Great Mother as she looked at her daughter as Artemis tilted her head. _They are sad, lost, lonely, scared little children, and are worthy of our compassion._ Seth moaned softly in his sleep. The Great Mother gently stroked his cheek.

"_Shhh . . .,"_ she gently soothed as she rocked him.

Seth's willingness to give his life for them had touched all of the Hive. All her children were concerned for his safety and well-being, and constantly asking their Mother how he was. The Great Mother smiled warmly at him. _But they certainly are brave._ The Great Mother looked at Artemis. _They are flawed, as are we. But, they have something we lack, as do we have something they don't. On our own, we are both imperfect and flawed, but together, there is a beauty and a happiness that we cannot achieve on our own._

Her children agreed with her words. As she thought on this, her mind drifted back to Kyle and Sophie. She purred as she looked through the images from Sophie's memories of their beautiful home on Zerichs II, and the wonderful people there. The Great Mother suddenly thrummed deeply as an idea hit her.

XXX

The next morning, the Great Mother asked Kyle and the others to come to the Hive as soon as they were able. The group filed in as all of the Xenomorphs seemed to be gathered around their mother, purring and trilling.

_You wanted to see us, Great Mother?_ Kyle asked as Sophie trilled. The Great Mother nodded as she stroked Seth's hair as he laid on his bed of silk next to her, awake, but still very tired.

_Yes. Now that the horrors of the Creators are gone, we can finally safely walk in the open air again. We can finally set right what was set wrong and Bond with our beloved hosts again. And it's all thanks to you._ Kyle felt his cheeks warm at not only the Great Mother's praise, but that of the whole Hive. _But I also wanted to ask something of you, all of you,_ the Great Mother said as she looked at the group of humans.

She shifted her gaze to Kyle and Sophie. _I have seen the beautiful world that is your home, and have seen the wonderful people there. As well, I have seen the wonderful, loving Bond you share with Sophie. I could ask for nothing better for my beloved children than for them to have a wonderful, loving Bond to one such as you._ The Great Mother thrummed deeply as she gently stroked Kyle's hair. _I wanted to ask if one of you would be willing to share this Bond with one of my children, and let her live on your wonderful world._ Kyle blinked as he stared at her.

"Kyle, what is she saying?" Sam asked. Kyle looked back at Sam as Sophie trilled.

"She's asking if one of us would be willing to be Bonded to one of her children and take her home with us," Kyle replied. The group looked surprised.

"I will," said a soft voice. All gazes turned to Seth at his words. He smiled softly as he looked at Kyle and Sophie. "I'd be honored to share that kind of Bond with someone like Sophie." The Great Mother crooned, as did her children, filling the Hive with a wonderful sound. Kyle and Sophie both smiled as they looked at Seth.

"She asked if you'd be willing to be Bonded to one of the new Mothers, a Queen," Kyle slowly ventured. Seth only smiled, his eyes looking almost normal.

"I'd be honored," he replied. MacReady chuckled as he shook his head.

"Looks like Zerichs II can expect some new immigrants," he chuckled as he scratched his beard. A-Mos nodded, his arms crossed and a grin adorning his face.

"And they'd be protected from W-Y by Zerichs' Sanctuary Law. Just like the Milurians," A-Mos added. Sam smiled as Sophie hugged her mate, lifting Kyle off the floor as she purred.

"That's wonderful. I'm sure there'd be other people on Zerichs who would love to share the Bond. I'd have to think it through, myself, though," Sam said. The Great Mother looked at Sam and purred as she gently touched Sam's stomach. Kyle and Sophie both froze, Kyle's eyes wide.

"Um, Sam? You already have a little life growing inside you," Kyle chuckled. The whole room went quiet as Sam looked down at her belly as the Great Mother purred. Mac's mouth hung open as he stared at Sam. Before she could speak, Mac wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and whooped as he picked her up and began to dance around the chamber.

"Yeeha! I'm a daddy! I'm a daddy!" Everyone, human and Xenomorph alike grinned at Mac and Sam. Sergei sighed from where he was, watching the whole thing.

"Aw, that's so sweet,"

That night, there was a lot of celebrating and planning as Sam carefully went over the files from Catherine's hard drive about Sophie's gestation and the surgery. She wanted to be as ready as she could be for when it was time for Seth's Bonded to be born.

In the mean time, during the next few days the Xenomorphs were finally able to open the long-sealed room that housed the Cradles and began taking them down to the shore to Bond them to the Mer-Gels. All of them were absolutely stunned at how beautiful the first Xenomorph born from a Mer-Gel was.

She had iridescent colors of blues, golds and greens to her exoskeleton and thin, translucent membranes between her fingers, arms, legs and along her tail. She was as loving and tender with her Bonded as Sophie was with Kyle, and more were being born every few hours. Already, the Hive was growing, and the Great Mother seemed ready to burst with maternal pride.

One person who was absent, however, was Sergei. Kyle rolled his eyes as he and Sophie ventured into the pyramid to find the linguist.

With their departure drawing near, Sergei had practically been sleeping in the pyramid, rushing to translate and download as much information as he could. They found him in the halls, just coming from the control room.

"Ah, here you are. I have some amazing news!" Sergei said, excited as he brought up his datapad. "I managed to translate some of the files on the older race, the Ossians, and it's amazing! Listen to this: _We are going beyond now, leaving behind the mortal shells that have served us for so long. We leave behind this world, pristine, a testament to the forms of flesh that we now are transcending. Never shall we forget this, our beloved home, where all life was bound together, in harmony. We leave this dimension with joy in our souls, but the loving memory of this, our beloved world shall stay with us forever._"

Sergei looked at Kyle and Sophie. "That was engraved in a ruin that the Creators found. I can't be positive, but it looks like the Ossians created this world, and all the life on it! They made this world to be a symbiotic paradise!" he declared. Sophie purred as Kyle smiled.

"Then, that makes them the true creators," Kyle chuckled. Sergei smiled.

"And we've helped set right what the others set wrong. I hope that, wherever they are, it makes them happy," Sergei said softly. Sophie purred as she nuzzled Kyle.

"I think they are," Kyle replied. Sergei pulled something out of his pocket.

"Lissa brought me this. It's something they hid from the Creators, it seems," said the linguist as he handed Kyle what seemed to be a long card of some kind of crystal. "Before you ask, I already know what it does. It's the control device for the defense array." They looked at him as Sergei smiled.

"Once it's activated, the defense array will literally make this planet invisible. If anything gets close, it will be vaporized. I can't tell if it's something the Creators made, or the Ossians, but it will keep this world safe from Weyland-Yutani and others like them," Sergei said as he stuffed the crystal back in his pocket. Kyle and Sophie were both relieved at the news.

"Come on, you've gotta see the beach. The ones Bonded to the Mer-Gels are amazing to see!" Kyle said as they led Sergei to the beach.

The night before they were to depart, Sam gave Seth a sedative to help him sleep during the implantation process. With him sleeping on his bed of soft silk, the Great Mother gently placed one of the Cradles near Seth's sleeping form. The others all stood back and watched

The Cradle shivered very slightly as the petals opened like a flower. For a few seconds, all was still. Then, the Seeker began to carefully crawl from the Cradle. The Great Mother crooned softly as the Seeker turned towards Seth's sleeping form. Carefully, it crawled out and down the side of the Cradle, onto the floor and onto Seth's chest.

Kyle could feel the mind of the Seeker. It wasn't in any way a complex mind, but it did known enough to follow the Great Mother's urging to be gentle with Seth. It carefully crawled up to his face, the two forelegs gently touching his face. It slowly and carefully settled over his face, the long fingers seeming to caress his face gently as the tail softly slid around his neck. MacReady sighed as he held Sam's hand. He looked at Kyle.

"How long will it take?" Mac asked.

"Not sure. A few hours," Kyle replied. The Great Mother and the others watched carefully while Kyle and the others slept.

When the morning came, the Seeker had fallen off. Seth still slumbered peacefully, a soft smile on his face. Sophie purred as she woke Kyle and the others. The Great Mother gently woke Seth, softly stroking his hair and purring.

"I dreamed about being wrapped in warm blankets," Seth said, his voice a little raspy. Kyle smiled as it brought back his own memories.

"So did I," said Kyle. Seth looked at him. "That's what she's feeling, inside you," Kyle explained. Seth gently stroked his chest. Victor elbowed Hugo.

"Seth's pregnant," Victor snickered.

"What was that?" Seth said, voice low.

"Nothing!" squeaked the mechanic. Mac rolled his eyes at the antics of his crew.

"Alright, let's get our stuff together, people," Mac ordered.

Outside the pyramid, everyone said their farewells to their new friends. Lissa hugged Kyle and Sophie tightly as she purred.

_Lissa miss Kyle, Sophie!_ Kyle smiled as he returned the embrace.

_We'll miss you, too,_ Kyle replied. Lissa whined as she gave them one last hug. Diana and Artemis also gave Kyle and Sophie farewell embraces. When it came time to say goodbye to the Great Mother, Kyle couldn't hold back his tears. He hugged her tightly as she embraced him with all four of her arms. It was agony for Kyle to bid her farewell. She purred gently as she stroked his hair.

_Don't cry, my child. We'll meet again, someday,_ said the Great Mother. She pulled back and gazed into his face. _Wherever your parents are, I know they're proud of you, Kyle._ She placed a soft kiss on his forehead, filled with motherly tenderness, love and warmth. The Great Mother looked at Sophie as she embraced her mate. _Take good care of each other._ Kyle and Sophie nodded as the Great Mother turned her attention to Seth. He smiled as she brushed a strand of hair from his face.

"I promise I'll take good care of your daughter," he said firmly. The Great Mother smiled as she embraced him as well.

_I know you will. Goodbye, Seth . . ._

XXX

Kyle had to take Terry's former position on the bridge as technician as the _Vortex_ lifted off. Kyle sniffed, fighting tears as the ship lifted into the air and headed back into space. Sophie felt her mate's sadness and thrummed as she stroked his shoulder.

_Don't cry, Kyle. We'll see them all again someday. Don't be sad,_ she comforted. Kyle smiled as he focused his attention on the readouts. At they flew into space, they flew past the rings, and could see that instead of being made up of tiny asteroids, the rings were made of millions upon millions of diamond-shaped metal objects, encrusted with eons of space-dust. All of them shared a sense of awe as they flew past the rings. It boggled their minds to think that something so massive had been engineered by someone.

As they left the rings, they were surprised when the whole planet wavered and rippled, like heatwaves on a summer day. Then, right before their very eyes, the planet faded from view, as if it never was.

"Amazing!" said Sergei. Kyle blinked through his tears as he looked at the screens.

"It's not even on radar or CFS. It's like it ceased to be," Kyle confirmed. MacReady sighed as he nodded.

"Good. Now they're really safe. Nobody can harm them or the planet. Let's head home," Mac ordered.

"Yes, sir," replied Kyle as the crew set course for Zerichs II.

XXX

The Great Mother sat on a cliff, her chin resting on her crossed hands as she watched the _Vortex_ take off and become a glowing dot in the sky. She purred deeply as she looked down at the beach below.

Many of her children had been Bonded to the Mer-Gels, who were shedding their skins and becoming adults. It filled her with happiness as her children purred and cooed, but it was the singing of the Mer-Gels that enchanted her. Their soft, haunting chorus of lilting calls filled her with untold joy. They were her children, too, in a way. Something in her, deeper than even Hive Memories reached, was happy at the sound. As she looked up at the violet sky, the statues above her of the Ossians seemed to shimmer in the light, as if they were made from hardened silk by skilled hands, eons ago.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Kyle sighed as he came back to consciousness.

_Good morning, Kyle,_ Sophie greeted with a gentle purr as she kissed him on the cheek. He smiled and chuckled as he felt the warmth of his beloved mate's mind gently and lovingly intertwine with his, filling his whole body and soul with the wonderful warmth of her love and affection.

_Good morning, my beloved,_ Kyle replied as he opened his eyes and gazed at the one he treasured most. He cupped Sophie's cheek, and she cupped his as they smiled softly.

"Good morning, you two," Sam greeted as she stood from her cryotube. Kyle smiled and Sophie purred. Kyle looked over at Seth, who still slumbered in his closed cryotube.

Sam had set his cryotube to stay closed until they actually were on Zerichs II. With so many unknown factors and so many variables, she wanted to be as ready as possible for when Seth's Bonded was ready to be born. Kyle's smile grew as he looked back at Sam, who also carried a little miracle inside. Sophie was purring as she stroked Sam's belly with curiosity and wonder. Through their link, Kyle could feel his mate's fascination with human pregnancy. He smiled further as he stood up and stretched. MacReady looked in good spirits as he rolled his shoulders.

"Ah, feels good to be back," said Mac as he walked over and placed a gentle hand over Sam's shoulder. Sam smiled up at Mac.

After a short, but excited breakfast, they filed onto the bridge, Kyle again taking Terry's former position as Mac took the Captain's chair. The whole group was excited as they stared at their home, Zerichs II through the window. Mac smiled at the beautiful sight as he switched on the radio and transmitted.

"This is _Vortex_ to Zeraven, we're back and coming in. Are the skies all clear?" There was a brief hiss of static.

"_This is Zeraven, the skies are crystalline. We missed you, Mac. Where the heck have you been for three years?"_ replied the voice over the radio. Mac chuckled.

"Out, and I mean _waaaay_ out," Mac replied.

All told, with the trip to HS-90, then to Ossia, and then back, it had taken them a total of three years to return. A little uncommon, but hardly unheard of. Everyone on board was looking forward to standing on soil and breathing the fresh clean salt-air of Zerichs II again.

When the _Vortex_ set down on Mac's island, there was a small group of people there to greet them. Almost as soon as they opened the door, Kyle and Sophie were enveloped in a soft, warm, furry embrace as Shiloh squealed with joy at her friends' return.

"Kyle! Sophie! We missed you _so_ much! We all were so worried!" Shiloh sounded close to tears. Barnabas, still looking as dapper as ever, stood behind, a soft, subtle smile on his face.

"Good to see you all in one piece," he greeted softly. He looked at Sam as Mac squeezed her shoulder. Barnabas, ever intuitive, seemed to know instantly, and smiled wider. "Good to see you again, Luv." Sam smiled at Barnabas, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Thanks," Sam replied. Leon chuckled as he almost had to pry his wife off of Kyle and Sophie.

"We're glad you're back. Shiloh's right, we were worried about you guys," said Leon. Kyle smiled at Leon as Sophie purred.

"Thanks. It feels good to finally be home," Kyle replied. Leon patted Kyle's shoulder.

Brother Shaun and a number of monks stood to the side, watching and smiling.

"Your home is as it was when you left, with the exception that the forest now has seen the return of many local creatures, now that the Serrex are gone," said Brother Shaun. Kyle smiled and Sophie purred. Barnabas frowned lightly as he cleared his throat.

"Speaking of those vile little beasts, they actually helped us catch the rest of the Gerries that were hiding here," said Barnabas. Everyone looked at him. "I'll explain over a cup of tea . . ."

Over some tea and a good half-hour, Barnabas filled in Kyle and the rest on what had happened while they had been away.

A few weeks after the _Vortex _had left, there had been a massive storm. Unknown to anybody, the storm brought some floating Coralyte, which had been home to several packs of Serrex. The nasty little creatures got loose in Zeraven and seriously wounded a few people, but, there was some good that came of it. When the Celts had been tracking the Serrex in the city, they accidentally ran into the group of Nazis that had been flushed out of hiding by the Serrex. Both the Nazis, and the Serrex died in a hail of Celtic gunfire. Barnabas chuckled as he finished.

"Hmph, pest-control. One group of pests flushed out another," Mac opined. This brought a few snickers from the group. By the same token, Mac told Barnabas and the rest about what they had found and did on HS-90, and Ossia.

"Wow," said Leon, stunned at the tale. Shiloh was almost wriggling in her seat with joy when she heard about the tiny miracle growing inside of Seth, who still was asleep.

"Oh, that's so wonderful! Sophie's people will love it here! I can hardly wait to see the baby!" Shiloh gushed. A-Mos smiled and chuckled as his eyes slid over to Sam and Mac,

"Seth isn't the only one expecting a little bundle . . ." At this, Shiloh squealed as she hugged Sam.

"More babies! How wonderful!" Kyle and Sophie both smiled at Shiloh's energy, cheeriness and the maternal warmth that radiated from her. Brother Shaun smiled smugly as he looked at Barnabas.

"Kyle, there's something we thought you and your lady might like to see," said Barnabas as he pulled out his datapad and tapped the screen. He walked over and showed Kyle and Sophie the screen. Kyle's jaw dropped and Sophie trilled at the image that greeted their eyes.

In the middle of the garden of flowers that surrounded _Mercy's Caravan_ stood a life-size bronze statue of Tobias Morgan and his wife, Shaloora, holding her baby. It was just like Kyle's sketch. At the bottom of the image, below the names of the three, was the caption: "Designed by Trevor Stone". Kyle blinked with shocked delight as he looked at Brother Shaun.

"Such a lovely and wonderful image deserved to be seen by all," said the monk as he winked at Kyle and Sophie.

_I'm so glad Tobias saved their race. They're a wonderful people,_ Sophie said as she embraced her mate. Kyle wrapped his arms around Sophie.

_So am I._

XXX

Seth groaned softly as he woke from the long slumber of hypersleep.

"Good morning, Seth. How're you feeling?" Kyle asked. As Seth opened his eyes, Sophie purred softly as she brushed his hair from his eyes.

"Okay. We home?" Seth asked as Sophie helped him to sit up. Kyle nodded.

"Back home on Zerichs," Kyle replied.

As Sophie helped Seth sit up, she felt a large knot of hard tissue over his left shoulder blade. Feeling his mate's concern, Kyle came over and looked at Seth's back.

The skin over his left shoulder blade was pale and knotted, an old scar. It looked to be a good eight inches across, almost covering the top of his shoulder blade. Sophie moaned softly as she very gently ran her fingers across his back, not sure if the scar was painful. Seth smiled softly as he looked at her.

"Don't worry. That happened a long time ago. It doesn't hurt anymore," Seth comforted as he stood. Kyle sighed softly, resigned as he watched Seth pull his clothes on.

"As soon as you're dressed, come out to the shuttle. You and Sam are staying in our house," Kyle said. Seth looked at him as Sophie purred and stroked his hair. "We need to keep an eye on you. Besides, it might help if you have someone to talk to who's been through this themselves." Seth smiled softly at Kyle's words.

Seth was excited, and, at the same time, nervous as they flew towards Eramore Island. Seth had heard about it, heard some of the tales, legends about it and the Foggy Forest, but had never actually seen it, not even in passing. He was surprised at how densely forested it was as Mac landed the shuttle in the small clearing that Kyle and Sophie landed their own ship in. As they disembarked, Sam and Mac shared a soft, gentle kiss before parting.

"See you in a few," breathed Mac. Sam smiled as she stroked his face. Sophie purred as she hugged Kyle.

_I'm so happy for Sam and Mac,_ said Sophie. Kyle smiled as he stroked Sophie's hands.

_So am I, love,_ he replied. Kyle looked at Seth and smiled.

"Come on. We'll get you settled into the house, and then we'll show your around," Kyle said as he stood with his hands on his hips. Sophie nodded her agreement as they led Sam and Seth to their home.

Sophie trilled with happiness as Josey, her pet rabbit came bounding up. Sophie scooped up the black and white rabbit and petted her as Sophie purred. Seth smiled at the amazing display of gentleness. Sophie turned and walked to Seth, letting him pet Josey, who closed her eyes. He smiled.

"She's cute," Seth chuckled. Sophie trilled as she set Josey down, who hopped over and into the bushes next to the house. Kyle smiled as he motioned to their house.

"Welcome home," Kyle said as Seth looked at their home.

"Home, sweet home," said Seth with a small, but happy smile as they went inside.

Once Kyle and Sophie made sure that Seth was comfortable in their home, Kyle piloted their ship, the _Talon_ over and into the end of the clearing by their house. When it was time for Seth's Bonded to be born, Sam would use the Autodoc on board to do the surgery. It did have a manual mode, but that required a surgeon who knew what they were doing. To that end, Sam studied the video of Kyle's surgery repeatedly, learning and observing. She also studied the files from Weyland-Yutani what they knew about the gestation of Queen embryos.

According to the files, the woman who survived all of the first three incidents, Ellen Ripley, had the little Queen in her for about a week before she hatched. Armed with that information, they settled in and tried to stay calm as they waited.

Over the course of that week, Kyle, Sophie, Seth and Sam all got to know each other much better.

Kyle had been surprised, bewildered and saddened to learn that Seth had been born in Smog Point, one of the poorest, most polluted ghettos on Berren Prime. The fact that Seth's mother had been murdered by his father was another sorrowful tale to hear, but that paled when compared to Seth's childhood, running with one of the youth gangs that populated the Berren ghettos. That easily explained why Seth's Thalarium levels had been so high. In fact it was the gangs that saved his life when, hiding in the sewers, Seth was attacked by rats. The bites on his shoulder became infected, and he would likely have died if not for the youth gang, the Laughing Boys, helping him.

However, there were some good things. Kyle smiled when he learned that Seth had frequented the same shop that he had, _Copperfield's Curiosities_, and knew old Mr. Copperfield just as well as Kyle did. Sophie was elated when Kyle and Seth were able to smile and compare stories of the skills they had learned in his shop, and their shared friendship with the kindly old man. Sadly, it also was Kyle's duty to inform Seth of Mr. Copperfield's death. Neither of them were surprised that the kindly old man, who had let them warm themselves by his old stove on cold days, had made them both promise to leave Berren Prime at the first opportunity. Kyle wasn't sure, but he thought he had seen Seth a few times when he was smaller, either entering or leaving the shop. The irony wasn't lost on either of them.

Kyle and Sophie also showed Seth around their island and the forest. Seth was quickly falling in love with the beautiful island, which seemed like an amazing paradise to him. Kyle also made a special point to make sure Seth had plenty of good, toxin-free food to keep up his strength. Also to give Seth enough protein to support both himself and his partner who grew stronger and bigger every day inside him.

Kyle also talked with Seth about what the gestation was like, and what to expect.

"You'll have times where you feel very tired and just want to sleep. That's perfectly normal. You just want to sleep semi-reclined. Trust me on that," Kyle instructed as Seth sat on the bed of soft silks that Sophie had prepared for him, with lots of cushions. Seth nodded.

"Yeah, I feel a little tired, but not too bad," Seth replied. Kyle smiled and nodded.

"Also, something you need to know is that we humans put up . . . barriers in our minds, dams for our emotions. It's a survival thing for us, I guess, but all of those things will come crashing down." Seth looked at Kyle as he spoke from where he sat in Sophie's lap. "When you're Bonded to someone like Sophie, those kind of barriers just _can't_ exist. So, be ready for it," Kyle advised. Seth nodded.

"Probably also has something to do with hormones while she's growing," Seth surmised. Kyle shrugged lightly, not yet sure of that, but it was a good evaluation on Seth's part.

"Not sure. But we want you to remember that we're always here for you. You ever need _anything_, you just ask me or Sophie. Okay?" Sophie purred as she gently took Seth's hand in hers. He smiled softly at his friends.

"I will." Seth replied, the gratitude clear in his voice.

As the days passed, Seth began to feel more tired, and slept more off and on throughout the day.

Whenever he would sleep, he would dream of sweet warmth, like being wrapped in the softest, warmest heating blankets, and a feeling of unbridled happiness surrounding him. Seth couldn't keep from smiling, or the tears from his eyes as he felt his new partner grow every day. Every time he slept, he felt her mind grow stronger and more aware, and always eager to connect with and enfold his mind so lovingly in hers. Kyle's words hardly did justice to the wonderful feelings of warmth and love he felt.

Finally the time came.

Sophie looked up from where she had been setting the dishes away after washing them. She looked at Seth, who sat on the couch. He frowned lightly as he drew in a breath. Sophie quickly moved over to the couch and purred as she gently stroked Seth's chest.

_Kyle, it's time,_ she said, her tone urgent as she sent warm feelings to calm the little one who was excited to meet her Bonded. Kyle almost dropped a plate as he quickly walked down the hall.

"Sam, it's time!" he called before walking over to the couch, where Sophie was trilling. "Seth, it's time. Just stay calm and breathe evenly," Kyle instructed. Seth nodded as Sam cam into the living room, her medical kit already open.

"Okay, I'm going to give you a tranquilizer, okay? Just relax," Sam coaxed as she gently set the pressure syringe to Seth's neck. Kyle smiled and Sophie purred softly as she stroked Seth's hair. Seth smiled softly as he fell asleep.

Seth's dreams were filled with great warmth, as well as excitement. He could feel the mind of his little partner, his Bonded, excited beyond all belief to be born and to finally meet her life-partner.

He felt her wrap her mind around his, caressing him lovingly and gently, soothing and comforting him.

All through it, he could feel another mind, as if from far away, that seemed to be talking to his partner.

It was soft and warm, but in a different way than his partner was.

Seth was surprised when he woke up. He groaned tiredly as his eyes fluttered open. At first, he was very disoriented, not sure where he was. As his senses came back, he could feel the soft warmth of the silken blankets that Sophie had woven for him. He closed his eyes and smiled softly as he breathed deeply. As he did, he felt the weight of something on the side of his chest. He opened his eyes and looked down. What he saw filled his heart with unrestrained love and affection.

A little, pink form was curled on the left side of his chest. A long tail laid across his chest, as if it were embracing him. Six tiny limbs were curled against it, the crest was small, but unmistakeable. Seth swallowed before speaking, his voice a little raspy.

"Hello, little princess. Welcome to the world," Seth said softly as a tear ran down his face. At the sound of his voice, the little form looked up at him. She opened her mouth and gave a gurgling coo that warmed Seth's heart. She curled closer, her head against his neck as her tail gently curled around his neck to embrace her Bonded. Seth smiled as he gently kissed the little miracle snuggled against him, who cooed again at the warm gesture.

Kyle and Sophie watched from the doorway, both of them filled with warm feelings as they felt the new Mother Bond to her partner.

_Welcome to the family,_ said Kyle. Seth looked up, startled at the voice in his head. Kyle and Sophie smiled as they came closer. Sophie purred as she looked at Seth.

_Hello, Seth. It's nice to finally be able to talk to you,_ Sophie said as she gently took his hand and held it. Seth smiled, his eyes shimmering with tears as his little partner cooed and purred. Seth could feel the warm, friendly feelings from Kyle and Sophie through the link, just as he could feel those of his Bonded. Through the link, Seth could feel them assuring both him, and his new little partner that they would protect and comfort them, and always be there for them.

"Thank you," Seth couldn't hide the tremble in his voice. Kyle smiled warmly as he put his hands on his hips.

"So, have you thought of a name for her?" Kyle asked. Seth smiled as he nodded.

"_Selene,"_ Seth replied. Selene cooed at her new name as she snuggled closer against her Bonded one's warm skin.

The next few days were filled with warmth, happiness and laughter as Seth began his new life with his wonderful little partner, Selene, the first Mother to be Bonded to a human being. Within her first few days of life, Selene's character was already forming, and she was very playful. She loved to play "peek-a-boo" with Seth, popping out from behind his pillows to squeak at him, then scurrying behind them to pop up on the other side before he could catch her and squeak at him again. When he finally caught her by grabbing behind the pillows, she squealed and flailed playfully in his grip. A quick kiss and a loving tickle calmed her. The game made Kyle and Sophie almost burst at the seams with happiness and pride as they watched the Bond form between Seth and Selene.

Selene was a little shy to meet strangers at first, hiding in Seth's shirt the first time she met Shiloh, but, once she found out how warm her fur was, and how easy it was to hide in the bushy Milurian's coat, it was quite a task to catch the little imp. The fact that Shiloh was ticklish only made it more difficult, though certainly entertaining.

While Seth and Selene formed their Bond, Kyle and Sophie looked to the future. Selene would quickly grow to be far too big to fit through their doors, but Seth had found another hollow spire in the forest that would make the perfect home for him and Selene. So, Sophie filled it with silks and blankets while Kyle traded a few more furs and some gold to the monks for some furniture and other necessities for the new home.

Finally, five days after she was born, Selene went through her first molt. By the time a week had passed, Selene was about the size of a human child, and had turned a deep gray, on her way to a deep, obsidian black. Seth felt it was time for the Zerichs Citizens' Council to meet Sophie and Selene.

As they were preparing, Kyle typed on his datapad. Seth raised an eyebrow as he looked at him.

"What're you doing?" Seth asked. Kyle grinned, as did Sophie. Selene squeaked curiously from where she was holding onto Seth's shoulders.

"Just a little parting shot . . .," Kyle said as he plugged in Catherine's hard drive into the datapad and began to upload the data. Sam looked over Kyle's shoulder and her eyes grew wide as she saw him uploading all of Dr. Reinhardt's research files, and those of Weyland-Yutani to a public website. With a final tap, the screen displayed, in large green letters : **File uploaded**. Kyle grinned from ear to ear as he turned off the datapad. "Consider that my _official_ resignation!" Seth snickered at that. Sophie gave a stuttering hiss, her mirth flowing through the link and reaching Selene, who, while not completely understanding the facts, understood the amusement this meant and chittered.

Outside, it was the very first time the monks met Sophie. Although they had been told about her kind by Brother Shaun, they were awed to meet her face-to-face. They also were charmed to meet little Selene.

MacReady and Sam smiled from the ramp of Mac's shuttle.

"Come on, folks! Let's get this show on the road!" Mac barked. As they filed in, Barnabas couldn't help smiling at little Selene, who clung to Seth with her tail wrapped around his waist.

Selene looked at Barnabas and squeaked. Seth looked at her and smiled before looking at Barnabas.

"She says "Hello"," Seth said as he walked over. Selene trilled as she looked at Barnabas, who smiled wider than anyone had ever seen.

"She's adorable, wot," replied the Bar-Master. Seth smiled wider at that.

"She's calling you 'Uncle Barney'," Seth said with a grin. Sam couldn't hold in her laughter at the comical stunned look on Barnabas' face. Mac decided to take pity on him.

"Strap in, folks," Mac advised. The gathered passengers did as he asked, Selene on Seth's lap, purring she she held onto him.

The trip to Zeraven was uneventful. As they unstrapped from their seats, Kyle and Seth both took a deep breath as they and their Bonded ones prepared to go out into public for the very first time.

Sophie and Selene both cuddled their Bonded mentally and physically as the door opened and they stepped out into the shining sunlight, Brother Shaun and the monks surrounding them.

Nobody was surprised that some of the people stopped and looked at the new arrivals. Through Sophie, Kyle could feel that the people were fascinated, rather than frightened. That comforted their minds as they were ushered into the Council Building.

The "government" of Zerichs II was very small, and the people represented themselves, rather than through elected officials. The Citizens' Council were all average people. Thankfully, Barnabas knew several of them, and had told them of the state of affairs before hand.

The room they were shown into was small and comfortable. A group of chairs sat in front of a large desk of carved Coralyte. Behind the desk sat the Citizen's Council. Selene squeaked uneasily as she cuddled closer to Seth at the strange surroundings. Seth kissed her gently on the head as he adjusted his grip on her.

The Council was of seven people; three humans, two Arcurians, one Shamolene and one Milurian. As one, the Council stood, all smiling.

"On behalf of Zerichs II, we would like to welcome you!" said the gray Milurian. Kyle sighed with relief. They were about to take their seats when one of the humans stopped them.

"That won't be necessary, we've already heard from witnesses everything we need to know," said the woman. Kyle stared in confusion and Sophie trilled. The Council walked from behind the desk to stand in front of them. The Milurian took Sophie's hand and held it, smiling as his tail swished from side to side.

"We must say it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Sophie! We've heard so much about you from Barnabas!" Kyle glanced over his shoulder at Barnabas, who wore a devilish grin. Next to him was a familiar figure with red hair in a suit that seemed a few sizes too big.

"_Peter!_" Kyle laughed. Peter smiled wider as he walked forward.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you, Sophie," said Peter before looking at Kyle. "Just after you left, we told the Council about Sophie and all the rest. We wanted them to be protected by the Sanctuary Laws, too." Kyle smiled as he watched the gray Milurian tickle Selene's chin. The little Queen cooed and chirped at the attention. The woman smiled at the group.

"We've already confirmed that Selene was, in fact, born here, and is a native by law." Kyle glanced at Sam, Leon and Shiloh, who all smiled. "And you and Sophie are official citizens, since you've lived here long enough. From this day forth, the Xenomorph is recognized as a sentient species, and shall be given full status as citizens of planet Zerichs II. Rest assured, they'll be protected by the Sanctuary Laws," announced the woman. The rest of the council agreed. Barnabas chuckled deeply as Sophie hugged Kyle and Selene squeaked happily as she bobbed her head.

"This calls for a celebration. Drinks and food are on me at the Lantern!" the Bar-Master said cheerfully. Mac and Sam grinned wider. Sophie purred deeply as she wrapped her arms around Kyle.

_Kyle, this is wonderful,_ said Sophie, the joy flowing from her like warm rays of sunlight.

_It really is, Sophie. Now, this truly is home,_ Kyle replied as his mate kissed him gently.

As they walked out of the doors, Barnabas talked with Kyle, Sophie, Seth and Selene.

"And Sergei has hardly stopped talking about everything he saw on Ossia. I swear, he's going to have a heart-attack from sheer excitement," said Barnabas. When Kyle looked up, there was a crowd gathered in front of the building. The group stopped as they stared at the crowd.

The large group of people, composed of many different races, seemed to stare at them. Kyle felt a little uneasy at the silence. It was broken when an old man stepped forward and spoke.

"_Give me your tired,"_ he said. A woman stepped forward and spoke.

"_Your poor,"_ said the woman. A man stepped forward and spoke next.

"_Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,"_ Another person stepped forward to say the next line as Sophie held Kyle's hand. Selene trilled from her place on Seth's back as she tilted her head.

"_The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,"_ Kyle and Seth both had tears in their eyes as three children recited the next lines.

"_Send these,"_

"_The homeless,"_

"_Tempest-tost to me,"_ Then, the entire crowd cried out, grandly and proudly, in one voice:

"_I lift my lamp beside the golden door! Welcome!"_

**The End**

**Author's note:** Well, here we are, at long last. I want to thank all my dedicated readers for their ideas and support. I also want to thank my mother for her help on what turned out to be a far larger, longer and more complicated project than I ever imagined. I also want to thank my beloved Grandma, who passed away while this was being written. Thanks, Grams.

This story was inspired by two songs: _If Everyone Cared_, by Nickelback and _Imagine_, by John Lennon.

Thank you for reading!


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